No Rules
by aliceeeebeth
Summary: Not Datherine ending, not Steroline ending. What if Katherine Pierce hadn't met the Salvatore brothers in the 1800's? What if she met them in the present day - would it change anything? Written about 2 years ago and in first person - take that into consideration! R & R please :)
1. Your Soul Is On Fire

_I had been at the school for five minutes and already I had everyone's attention. All the girls wanted to be me, and all the boys? Well, they wanted to get their hands on me. Even the teachers. Hell, they were willing to risk their jobs to get their grubby, hairy hands all over my body. Especially Mr Parker, who seemed to think that all the girls in his Maths class had an inappropriate crush on him._

_I'm not being conceited, but this was the affect I had everywhere I went. And, still not being conceited, who could blame them? I knew I looked good, my curled hair done to perfection, my make up highlighting my face, my perfect curves accentuated by my tight clothes. And you may wonder how I knew all this? Well, I was observant when it came to the opinions of the people around me, amazingly so._

_The immature still-just-children made no effort to hide their whispers. Who is she? Where did she come from? Do you think she'd go out with me? Yes, all of them were idiots who'd much rather spend time gossiping than actually bothering to find out the truth. It would only be so long before the I heard she got pregnant and was forced to move away rumours started. Or the prison rumours, or the stalker rumours... Hell, when you've been around as much as I have, the first day becomes almost like a ritual._

_Wherever I walked that day, I had about twenty gazes on me constantly. Which, if I had been a petty little teenage girl, would have caused me to become big headed. As it was, I couldn't get any more egotistical if I tried. I mean, when you look as good as I do, who can blame you? Nobody stuck out for me. Nobody smelt amazing, or looked good. No boys seemed worth my time, and I doubt they were worth my effort anyway. None of the lessons held my attention, none of the teachers bothered trying; there was nothing appealing about it. In fact, by the time I'd got to lunch, I was extremely tempted to just walk out of this hell-hole and move on._

Remember, Katherine, you promised that you'd try and stay in one place this time. You promised to find some stability. God knows you need it. You've spent the last however-many-years running, maybe it's time to settle down, maybe meet a boy-

_But no amount of voices in my head could stop me, and when the bell went I was already half way across the playground, hoping that I'd manage to slip out unnoticed, but knowing differently. Who cared what these people thought? By next week they wouldn't even remember my name._

_That irked me. I never liked being un-rememberable, I liked making a splash. A big one. And I knew exactly what would cause my name to go down in the history of Mystic Falls. Only problem is, it would require effort, and for me to get my hands dirty..._

_..._

"_Excuse me?" My voice was timid from where I sat on the floor. Who could resist helping a damsel in distress, after all? Especially not a middle aged man with a beer gut who was obviously not getting any from his wife._

"_Yes, dear?" His eyes blinked nervously from behind his glasses which sat on his pudgy nose. I could almost hear all his blood rushing down as he took in my ripped top and smudged make up. It had killed me a little inside to do that, especially as they were vintage, and my makeup had taken actual time and effort this morning. Although some men try to pretend that they prefer their women to look prim and proper, every male's a sucker for the rough and ready look._

"_I was wondering if you could tell me who the mayor of this town is."_

"_But, dear-" Ugh, so patronising. Couldn't he tell that I wasn't anyone's dear? "- why would you need to know that? Also, I don't think I'm allowed to tell you. It wouldn't be right." The blinking increased its rate until I honestly thought that his eyeballs were about to fall out._

_Looks like this wasn't going to be as easy as I first thought. So, with that, I jumped up and stared into those eyes that could only be described as strained from watching too much porn while his wife lay asleep upstairs._

"_Let's get one thing clear." I spoke clearly and precisely, all the time not taking my eyes from his. "You are going to tell me who the mayor is, then you're going to direct me to his house. Afterwards, you'll be on your way and you won't even remember this conversation. In fact, you won't even remember being out today." He froze, but my gaze still didn't waver. "Now, I'm going to ask again. Who is the mayor of this town?"_

"_Mr Salvatore. He lives just through that field there." A shaky voice, but I'd got my way. Not that I was surprised._

_Katherine Pierce always gets her way._

_..._

_As I strode across that field with as much subtlety as a neon sign, I surveyed my surroundings, making sure there was none of that vervain that I was, well, shall I say, allergic to. Hmm. There was nothing. No wood, no garlic, no crosses. Yes, Mystic Falls was definitely a modern town, not believing in any stupid things like vampires or the supernatural. How it had changed from the Mystic Falls of old, which every vampire would either flock to (after all, there was something exciting about the risk of getting caught) or avoid (after all, if there were known vampire hunters in the town it was impossible to know who had been injected with vervain or not)._

_What was I doing, reminiscing at a time like this? Not when I had a job to do._

"_Hello?"_

_I whipped around in a millisecond, coming face to face with a young man... I'm assuming he was about 20, but age was never my strong point. I suppose he seemed cute, his black hair curling around his face, his jaw line prominent, the hint of a shadow on his chin._

"_Hi, I'm looking for Mr Salvatore..." I purred, lowering my eyelids and looking up at him with as much seductivity as I could manage. When he hadn't replied, I lifted my gaze to meet his eyes, but stopped. There was something about those eyes, haunting and mildly evil, like they had seen too much. And then I took in his outfit, or rather that large rucksack that he was carrying on his back._

"_Oh, are you an army boy?" I was impressed, especially as I could see the hint of muscles under his t-shirt. Maybe I wouldn't kill his father. Maybe I wouldn't kill him..._

"_I'm Damon, Mr Salvatore is my father. Let me guess, you're new to the town and you wish to get on his good side, so that your little parties will go un-noticed." A smirk on his lips. Just for a second, but in that second he'd saved his family's life._

"_Don't judge me, Damon Salvatore. You know nothing about me." Though it's not like I was doing anything to avoid that assumption, considering my clothes were still torn (I had to get the creepy old man's attention somehow) and my make up still smudged._

"_You know it's courtesy for you to return your own name when I've told you mine." Another twist of his lips, also just for the shortest time._

"_I know, but I like keeping an air of mystery about me."_

"_But-" I put one finger on his lips to silence him. Just touching him made my teeth hurt... I frowned, knowing that I should probably get as far away from this boy as possible, but when did I ever run away from danger? So I tested myself, leaning in closer to Mr Salvatore, until my lips were touching my finger. The pain in my mouth was getting uncomfortable, but I decided to risk it further by removing my finger, and moving in even closer..._

"_Damon!" A voice from behind me shocked me to the core. Damn. I had been paying so much attention to myself and the effect this boy had on me that I hadn't been listening out for the public. I spun around, and thanked the Lord that the person was too far away to notice that Damon wasn't alone._

_I wasted no time in speeding away, knowing that Mr Damon Salvatore would not be forgetting me in hurry. And neither would I forget him, not when he had caused my fangs to protrude with a simple touch..._

**A/N: Chapter title from this fanvideo: watch?v=yyZcMGiWdc4**_  
_


	2. Driving Me Crazy

**I couldn't stop thinking about that girl from earlier. My first day back from Libya, which had been dangerous, bone-breaking, terrifying and downright exhausting, and the first person I meet was this beautiful girl who had never even given me her name.**

"**Damon?" Mom was standing at the foot of my bed, but I hadn't even noticed her coming in. The TV was on, but I don't remember watching "Top Ten Wonders of the World," and I definitely don't remember opening the book that was in my hands. God, this girl had ruined me that much...**

**I figured the less I spoke to Mom, the less she would worry. And if she did worry, it would be because of the "horror" I had been through these last 6 months, not because of some girl that I had a 5 minute encounter with this morning. So I just looked up at her and nodded.**

"**Your brother's just got home. And your father. We need to talk about how this is going to work." I obviously looked confused as she continued. "You know, whether you'll be staying here for your leave-"**

"**I'm not going back." Four words, each one of them made in steel- no, titanium. I wasn't changing my mind. I didn't care how much Dad wanted me out of the house, how much of a disappointment I was compared to my perfect younger brother. I would rather die than go back to that bomb-site. Literally.**

"**Damon, you have responsibilities."**

"**To who? My country? No. If I have to move out, I don't care. Nothing you say can force me back onto that plane..." And, although it may seem childish, with that I turned the TV up and acted like I was engrossed. I could almost see Mom's disappointment, like a cloud, surrounding everything in my room.**

**...**

"**I'm glad you're home Damon, how long for?" A typical Dad comment, as if he could just be happy to see me without a time limit on it. But he was happy, and for the few seconds that he gave me a hug, I was pleased for that.**

"**I'm not going back. Hey, Stefan!" I hugged my brother hard. Although I hated the constant comparison between us two, it wasn't Stefan's fault he was so perfect... Well, perfect in the sense that he got excellent grades and was set to take over from my father when he turned 21.**

"**Damon Salvatore, did I hear you right? Are you telling me that you are not going back to serve your country and fight for what's right in this world?" Dad's face was slowly turning a nice crimson colour as he tried to get out how much of a disappointment I was without actually saying it. Though he had forced this onto me. I was never a disappointment until Stefan came along, and when Dad wrote into his will that should anything happen to him I wouldn't be getting a penny, well- I might as well live up to my reputation, might I?**

"**Yep. I'm not going back. And nothing you say can force me to." Hmm, dinner was going to be really fun if this is how it started. It would only be a few moments until Dad came out with –**

"**Why can't you be more like your brother, Damon? Stefan here accepts his responsibilities, and would never run away from them. Never EVER. I'm ashamed to call you my son sometimes." On and on he went, and the temptation to say something about the spit that was covering everything a metre in front of him was unbelievable.**

"**Giuseppe, maybe we should save this for another day, when we're less tired. I'm sure Damon's got jet lag from the flight..." Typical Mom, ever the peace keeper, even if it meant she had to seem weak and spineless in front of all of us. Unfortunately I wasn't in the mood to keep the peace. So, dinner not even started, I grabbed my coat from the hook.**

"**Never mind Mom, let Dad spout some crap about me. I'm past caring." I made sure to slam the door behind me, hoping I made a scratch on the ancient wood.**

**...**

"**Damon?" That voice again. My head snapped up, expecting her to be standing right in front of me. But she wasn't. I spun my head left and right, but I couldn't see her anywhere. Maybe I imagined it. Maybe the vodka had gone to my head. Maybe I was just so angry with my stupid father, my wimp of a mother and my supposedly perfect brother that I was going crazy.**

**A laugh.**

**Now, I've never heard her laugh so I definitely did ****_not _****imagine that.**

"**What are you doing out here in the dark, all alone, Damon Salvatore?" She came out of the trees like an angel... Except her eyes looked too dark and her lips were too red to be anything good... "Hasn't anyone told you that dangerous things live in the woods?" Her lips were pursed, as if she was in pain, and her clothes were ripped, almost to shreds. I wouldn't have noticed except they were completely different clothes than those she was wearing earlier.**

"**I had a fight with my dumb father." Why did I say that? Now she's gonna think I'm un-cool. "I don't know why I told you that." I felt a small blush creep across my cheeks, but if she changed her opinion of me due to my confession she didn't let it show, for which I was grateful.**

"**Mind if I join you?" She motioned to the space on the log beside me, and I nodded. "I meant, why here? The whole forest is yours, isn't it?" In one quick movement she had the vodka out of my hand and up to her lips. Those red lips that looked so soft, so perfect, so... sexy. I wondered if she would mind me kissing her without any warning. I bet she was an absolute devil in- "Damon?"**

"**Oh! Yeah, we own most of it. Some of its public, but yeah. I come here because it's where I keep the, uh, alcohol. Nobody thinks to look here... Well, except you, obviously." There was something about this girl that made me not want to talk because of her, well, beauty and stuff, but when I did talk I spoke ****_way_**** too much.**

"**That's cool." We sat in silence after that, occasionally swapping the vodka bottle between us, her looking pensively out towards the trees, me just looking at her. Looking at her perfect skin, her long brown hair, her curves, and her bra strap obvious under her top... God.**

"**Look, if this is going to work, if we're going to start making out in a second, which I'm planning on, you have to stop staring at me when I'm right next to you." She didn't even turn her head to tell me that, but I carried on staring at her anyway, figuring that she liked the attention and was just doing what any girl does when she gets attention.**

"**Damon," her head turned to face mine, so quick that I blinked. "You're going to stop staring at me when I'm within a metre radius, okay?" She was staring into my eyes, so deep that I found myself agreeing with her. "Good. Now you're going to kiss me." And she was so persuasive with those 6 words that I leant in almost involuntary.**

**And when our lips met, I found myself completely involved in it. I had hardly any thought space to think that her lips ****_were_**** soft, that I could probably get away with putting my hands on her waist, or maybe even-**

"**Nuh-uh." Her lips moved to my cheek as she breathed against my skin. "I'm not a slut, Damon Salvatore."**

"**Who are you though?" My mind was dazed but I still knew I needed to ask that question. "You know my name, you know where I live, you know my secret hang out spot... The least you can do is tell me your name."**

"**It begins with K."**

**There was a breeze and when I opened my eyes, K was gone, leaving me with thoughts flying round my brain wildly and blood that started up it's normal flow.**

**A/N: Chapter title from this fanvid: watch?v=l-pZ2tmOcmk**


	3. Misery

_Damn, sometimes I'm so stupid. As my teeth ripped into the blood pack I currently held in my hands I tried desperately to stop thinking about Damon. Not once, in my 500 years of existence, had I found someone who made my fangs come out with just a touch. Not once. And I had been through many, many, many people._

_Although, in a normal situation, I would have no issues with tasting a cute boy's blood, something about Damon was different. My gut was telling me that I should wait, and I was inclined to believe it. My gut instincts were never wrong, and I held my still-existence down to them. After all, it was my gut that told me to leave my last town when I did, and I found out that a warrent had been put out for my arrest. Looks like the "murders" I had committed... well, they'd found out the truth. A semi-truth, I suppose._

_Maybe Damon's blood was poisonous. Maybe I would be found out before I'd even had a chance to sink my teeth into that strong, lean neck of his._

_Dammit, Katherine! Stop thinking of him RIGHT NOW._

_With that thought I realised that the blood pack was empty, yet I was still sucking at it. God, Damon was making me crazy. I wasn't attracted to him, it was merely curiosity. But didn't curiosity kill the cat? Hmm. I dropped the pack to the floor and took in my house for the first time. I'd been living in it for a whole 24 hours, but not once had I noticed it._

_Thank goodness that it existed, otherwise I would have had to kill some people. Dear Mrs Old Pierce, my great-great-great niece in law... or something had died a few months back, but nobody ever claimed her house. She left it to family, but none of her children wanted it. Naturally, I swooped in and bought it. Well... I compelled the family to let me have it for free. With all the furniture in it. Compelling was useful like that._

_For an old lady, Mrs Pierce sure did have good taste. The sofa's were leather, the bed had crisp white sheets and there was a lack of floral patterns and lace. It was the kind of place I could imagine seducing someone, though I wasn't quite sure why._

_Speaking of the bed, it was late. And I was still planning on attending Mystic Falls high school, because I wouldn't want to arouse suspicion... Plus I needed to be notorious._

_..._

"_Stefan, where were you yesterday?" As I re-applied my lipstick and just generally admired myself in the mirror that resided in my locker, I couldn't help but overhear. "It's way too close to your mid-terms for you to be missing lessons, not if you want to keep up your grades." Intriguing. Sounds like there was a rebel in our works._

"_I had to help my father." ... Maybe not. "And anyway, who cares what grades I get? I already have a job as soon as I leave here, as long as I do better than my brother." I heard the principal's door slam and looked up. Wow. Stefan was definitely cute. Much cuter than Damon. He had dirty blond hair that stuck up, looking like fingers had been running through it. Eyes as deep as the ocean, but too dark to be compared to water. Lips that made me want to kiss them immediately, and as he walked by I caught a whiff of him and my mouth watered immediately. Yum._

_I walked after him, praying on every God that I didn't believe in that he had history with me. And when he turned into my history room I thanked the God that had supported the demise of my bloodline and the torturous life I had been forced to endure._

_As I walked into the room, it turned silent instantly. No prize for guessing who they had been talking (well, gossiping) about before I had arrived. No doubt that they were wondering why I had walked out of school yesterday. To go have an illegal abortion, probably._

I heard that she got raped by her father and then got sent away so they wouldn't have to deal with the police. They even paid for her abortion... Which is where she was yesterday. The teachers don't know anything about her...

_Sigh, teenage girls are so predictable. I settled into a seat in the aisle two away from the delicious-looking Stefan, knowing that he would be spending most of the lesson looking at me. Teenage boys were also predictable._

_..._

"_Actually, sir. You're wrong." All heads turned to face me, as if they needed an excuse. But I was tired of the factually-inaccurate representation of the reason the USA joined the First World War and I couldn't sit through it any longer. "In the battle of Willow Creek there were 27 civilian casualties. The army fired on a church."_

"_Actually, Miss..?"_

"_Pierce. And before you disprove me, or at least try to, I'll let you know that my family have high connections and have done for many years. Therefore I think I know better than you do, with your barely-a-degree from the mail-order university. Also, there are records in the town hall, did you not think to check them before you started the lesson?" Mr Well's eyes started to turn into slits and I knew that it was only a matter of time before he started shouting at me. But I didn't care, as I could feel Stefan's eyes on me and that was the plan, after all._

"_End of class." Wow, obviously history teachers aren't predictable. I quickly packed up my books and started to walk out of the lesson, but didn't make it past the doorway before I heard my name being called._

"_Katherine, right?" Stefan. If I had a heart, it would be beating faster right now due to that deep, intense gaze that was currently on me. "I'm-"_

"_Stefan. I heard you talking to the principal this morning." I smiled, and enjoyed the way Stefan almost smiled back. It reminded me of someone else, but I was too focused on now to think of someone from my past._

"_Right. You weren't here last week, have you just moved?" He seemed to regret asking that question, and shook his head. "Forget it. I was just gonna say that was impressive. Not many people stand up to Mr Well and leave the classroom with all limbs still intact."_

"_Well, if there's one thing I hate more than anything in the world, it's factual inaccuracy." I turned and walked away, and, just as I expected, Stefan followed me._

"_Have you got lunch now? These stupid timetables, I never know if I'm on lunch at a reasonable time or if it's too late and my stomach starts rumbling..."_

"_Yeah, I do. But I have work to do. The problem when I move about so much I keep joining schools mid-semester." And so I walked away again, feeling his gaze on my back._

_Looks like my gut was right. It was good to wait._

**A/N: watch?v=g7mKQkvPF3Y**


	4. I Know That You're Thinking Of Me

"_Damon?" It was after school, but I had nothing to do. It sucks to be a vampire, you can't afford to gain friends, not when there's a risk they'll find out and chaos will ensue. And, believe me, I'd learnt that out the hard way..._

"_Yeah?" He'd been waiting for me, although he was unsure if I'd turn up or not. After all, who else would he be waiting for? I smiled at his expectant face, strode over to where he sat, bent over and moved as close as I could get to his face without actually touching him. His eyes met mine and I could see... I don't know what I could see in them, something I hadn't seen in a while._

"_Katherine." I whispered, before whipping away so fast the delightful Mr Damon Salvatore was left blinking. "That's my name. Thought that if we were going to make out again we should really be on first name basis." Then I pursed my lips, hoping that he wasn't one of those boys that needed everything spelt out for them._

_Luckily for me, Damon wasn't, and it wasn't long until his lips were on mine and my fangs were coming out. Damn, this was painful. Maybe he wouldn't mind if I just had a little nip... Just a tiny one..._

"_Katherine..." he moaned as I moved my lips from his mouth to his neck. It was then that I stopped, and he froze too. Why did I stop, you may be wondering? Oh, what am I saying, it's me, of course you're wondering. I stopped because his moan had made me realise that I was supposed to be lying low. When Damon ran away and started telling people, or when I killed him (which was a possibility) it wouldn't be too long before the authorities began to put two and two together and made four. I'd be a wanted woman again, and I liked it here. Plus, Stefan... My fangs went in as I stopped being controlled by my vampiric nature. But Damon thought he had done something wrong, and I wasn't going to disagree with him. "Shit, sorry. I know you said you weren't a slut and I was just-"_

"_It's okay, I just... I have to go. See you on Monday?" I broke away and tried desperately to control the urge that I had to tear into his throat._

"_Sure." And yet again, I left him, both of us wanting more._

_..._

**Shit, Damon. You're such an idiot. I face-palmed over and over, hoping to remove the memory of my idiocy from my brain. Needless to say, it didn't work.**

**I just couldn't help it, Katherine was the most gorgeous girl I had known my whole life. She wasn't like anyone I knew, though she was too mysterious for me to be sure of that. For once I was working to get her, not the other way around. Strangely enough, I liked the chase.**

"**Damon? Mom and Dad want you." I groaned inwardly, but for a different reason than my groan earlier. STUPID. When Mom and Dad both wanted to see me, and sent Stefan to get me... Well, that was never a good sign. It was almost like they wanted me to compare myself to my brother as I followed him to the house, as if they wanted me to make a snap decision to change my entire mind-set in order to please them.**

"**Damon, we want you to start looking for a place to live. Your mother and I-" Meaning: Just me. Your mother doesn't get a say in any decisions, she's just there to look pretty and make me a sandwich. "-think it would be best if you're not returning to the army. Of course, if you DID decide to return, your room would be available for however long you needed when you came back on leave." Meaning: Basically, re-join the army or get lost.**

**Great...**

"**I'll start looking tomorrow." I said dully, hoping that the conversation was over and I could return to my alcohol spot. Maybe Katherine would return, looking for me and we could make out again and I wouldn't be an idiot this time... I hated how my insides leapt at that, then loved it too.**

"**Good. Maybe this is just what you need, son. Soon you'll be making us both proud." I tried to ignore the flare of anger that went through me at his words, but couldn't help my grip from tightening on the chair I was sitting on. It wouldn't do anyone any good to lash out at him, even though the idea was very tempting. **

**With that Dad decided that he had angered me enough, and departed from the room. Self-centred, pompous, needs to be knocked off his high-horse douche bag. I hated him, and I meant that with every cell in my body.**

"**He doesn't mean it you know." I jumped about 20 feet in the air. Shit, how long had Stefan been there? I hated it when people knew that I wasn't as thick-skinned as I like to pretend.**

"**Fuck off, little brother."**

**...**

"**Damon?" My heart pounded as I bolted upright in my bed. Was I imagining things again? Or was... "Damon, let me in." It was from my window. ****_Please let me be imagining things, let me be dreaming. Please oh please._**** "Damon, it's Katherine. Open the fricking window, it's cold out here." Katherine? But- immediately my mind went to what she could want, what I ****_hoped_**** she wanted, and I got morning wood. At 1 am, did that count as morning? Shit.**

**When I flung my window open she attacked me. That's the only way I can describe it. She jumped through the window and started kissing me. I barely had time to react before she had pulled away to slip off her jacket. Fuck, was this really happening? I mean, it's not like it was my first time but usually girls wanted a guy to at least put in some effort in order to get them into bed. But then, nothing about Katherine was usual. Who else would climb up to my balcony just to get some making out?**

"**Katherine, wait." My breathing was coming out in gasps and it was so fricking hard to focus on what I wanted to say when this hot girl- no, hot wasn't the best way to describe her. Katherine was ****_more_**** than hot. Well, anyway, she was standing in front of me, hands ready to take off her top, lipstick all smudged from where she had pounced on me. "Are you sure? Cos I don't know you well and you're too hot for this to be a one night stand."**

"**This won't be a one night stand unless you want it to be." And then her lips were on mine again, kissing me with such urgency that I was forced back. And then, before I could even take it in, she was half naked, ripping off my clothes too.**

**...**

_I smiled to myself as I stood outside Damon's house, experiencing his dream just as much as he was. God, he would blush when he saw me next. But I should stop messing with his mind really. Hmm, damn, he was hot though._

_I ended the dream purposely at the moment when we were just about to do the deed and grinned again, before walking out into the night, smirking widely._


	5. Where Is My Heart?

"_Katherine?" I was in my own little world, thinking of how I could enter Damon's dream tonight as well as on Friday. I thought I might introduce the idea of me being a vampire, see if he found it hot or not. Plus, role-play was always fun to imagine. "Katherine?"_

"_Yeah?" I spun my head around to face the voice, and found myself eye to eye with the beautiful Stefan. He definitely would not find me being a vampire hot, he seemed like the wound-up-too-tightly type. Shame. Though, from what I've learnt from being promiscuous for most of my life, it was the tightly wound guys that went kinda crazy in the bedroom._

"_Do you wanna be partners in Mr Smith's class? I figure I'd ask, this semester we're doing dissections, and I thought... well, you're a girl, so..." His heart was beating faster than Damon's had in the dream last night, and I couldn't help but wonder how fast it would go when he was turned on..._

"_Sure. You thought that I didn't do blood." I smiled at him, as if I was laughing at a joke that I wasn't going to share. Which I was. I did blood more than most people did. "Well, you're kinda right." Animal blood wasn't my type."But that's cool. They say chivalry is dead..."_

"_So, we should... meet up to sort out our project... I guess..." he stumbled over his words and I tried not to show how pleased that made me. Even though loads of guys (still not being conceited or arrogant here) wanted me, barely any of them actually had the confidence to force me to acknowledge their existence, and so when boys went goo goo eyes at me while talking... it was nice._

"_How about you come round mine this afternoon- oh wait, shit. No. I can't. This evening?" I had remembered Damon suddenly, and I really didn't want to bail on him. I inwardly smiled again as I wondered if I would have to choose between two boys. That was always amusing._

"_Um, sure. Where do you live?" I scribbled my address down and gave it to him, careful to avoid touching him. I wasn't sure if I could deal with the possibility of another Damon-effect. Strangely enough, Stefan's proximity made me want to be human. I'd been around for 500 years and not once had this happened to me, let alone in the same town as a desirable feed..._

_Maybe it wasn't safe for me to live here, I wondered as Stefan wandered off. Maybe I should leave. But the twinge in my heart told me that I couldn't do it. Damon was far too interesting, and Stefan was far too gorgeous for me to leave them both._

_..._

"_Katherine?" Damon always seemed surprised to see me, like he could hardly believe that I was there to see _him _and not out with some other guy. Speaking of which, I didn't have long before I had to be back- well, I suppose I'd call it "home"- to meet with Stefan. Hmm._

_I smiled as seductively as I could manage, hoping that Damon would notice that I was wearing the same outfit as I had in his dream the other night. As I heard his blood rush down to below his waist I knew he had and revelled in the blush that now spread across his cheeks. God, he was cute._

"_Are you blushing?" I slowly ran the tips of my fingers over the red and stopped smiling. You know, in that way that girls do in cheesy rom-coms, just as they realise that they actually love the guy they're talking to and the couple kiss and stuff? Yeah, I hate generic teenage girls, but it worked, as suddenly Damon's lips were on mine, his tongue already in my mouth and his hands touching me. And, just as suddenly, my teeth were sharp and my eyes started to burn. Shit, I knew what that meant._

"_Katherine, wait-" It seemed like Damon had taken inspiration from his dream last night, except this time I'm pretty sure I knew what he was going to notice. So, praying that this would work, I tried to compel him without talking._

You aren't going to notice my eyes. You're going to kiss me again.

_Although there was a question on his lips for about 5 seconds, it was forgotten and so he kissed me just as urgently as before. God, my teeth were getting painful. Maybe he wouldn't mind if I kissed his throat... Maybe he wouldn't mind if I inserted my teeth into the artery... Maybe he wouldn't mind if I started taking his Power..._

_I couldn't control myself much longer, and pretty soon my mouth was moving away from his lips, kissing that strong jaw of his, tracing a pattern down to his neck, to the prime place for blood..._

_And then my teeth were sinking into his skin. Damon froze for an instant, and immediately I probed into his mind again, reminding him that vampires are sexy, that he wasn't going to resist me, that he wasn't going to tell anyone... and then he was moving against me again. I tried not to take too much, which was near impossible as the taste exploded on my tongue. Damon tasted exactly as I thought he would, full of Power and energy and life... He tasted strong._

_I ran my tongue over the bite, knowing that it would heal too quickly for anyone to notice it. It would make a bruise, but Damon seemed like the kind that appeared with love bites all the time, so who would care?_

_I broke away from the entanglement, noticing that we had somehow sunk to the floor and had been rolling around in the undergrowth. Man, I'm out of it when I feed._

"_Katherine... Are you a vampire?" He lay there, dazed, eyes as big as saucers._

"_Damon, look at me." As I knew he would, Damon followed my order. I looked into those eyes of his and compelled him for what seemed like the millionth time that day. "Vampires don't exist. You got the love bite from just ordinary making out. Now you're gonna go back home and I'm going to leave." He nodded and I smiled, watching him as he walked away._

_Only when he was out of sight did my smile fall off my face. Damn, Katherine, why did you fuck things up already? And I made a promise not to compel anyone else, especially not Stefan-_

_Oh no. Stefan!_

**...**

_As I dashed from the site of my first feed since arriving in Mystic Falls, I amazed at how powerful I felt. It had been months since my last live feed, and I had missed this feeling. When I took blood from someone, the immediate after effect was that I felt _alive. _I felt like I had actual blood coursing through my veins and arteries, like my heart was pumping life. Like I had never been with Klaus, like I had never died..._

_But then the feeling was gone when I thought of Klaus. I'm pretty sure he was still after me. It's not possible to run forever from him, and eventually I would have to face the music. Damn, I needed to stop thinking of my past._

_I wasn't leaving here, not until I felt at risk from whatever or whoever. And if I did leave, and Klaus sent his people after me... what would happen to Damon? What would happen to Stefan?_

_I wouldn't do that to them._

_No._


	6. I'm Not Cocky

"_Stefan, wait." My breath was coming out in gasps and I had never felt less in control. One hour with Stefan and I knew what was coming. He was just so easy to get along with, I didn't feel the pressure to act human, and it came naturally. I didn't have to lie to him when he asked about my family, because he didn't ask. It was like he knew that I didn't want to talk about things like that, like he knew when I started asking questions that I just wanted to hear about him. And I could tell by the way he mentioned his dad that he didn't want to talk about his family. So we spoke about the future. What we wanted. I mean, biology was mentioned in passing, but I knew that wasn't the reason that he was here._

_But then, when the silence came, it wasn't awkward because it was meant to be. It was bound to happen the second he walked in my door, maybe even before that. And then it _did _happen. Stefan kissed me. And I didn't even think. All thought, all capability to think left me when his lips touched mine. It was so gentle, not like Damon's harsh, forceful ways. It was sweet and perfect and I felt it all the way to my toes. I don't think I'd ever been kissed like that. Ever._

"_What?" He breathed against my mouth, as I still hadn't put enough distance between us two. I liked Stefan. I liked him too much, and he could make a great friend (the voice in my head was screaming that I couldn't have friends, I needed to think of myself)... and above all, I wanted Damon too. I liked him not enough to stop- well, whatever I was doing with Damon._

_This was always how it was. Katherine Pierce, the girl who always wanted too much. The girl who would do anything she could to get everything she wanted, at whatever cost. And right now? I wanted both of them. I wanted Damon, with his boyish ways, and I wanted Stefan, who still hadn't moved away._

"_I kinda... There's someone else." Cue frozen Stefan who was now staring at me in a way I couldn't comprehend. "We're not going out but I like him-"_

"_And you don't like me?" Oh. He was hurt. My heart twinged again and I hated Stefan and Damon in that second. I needed to switch my feelings off. I needed to-_

"_No, Stefan. I've been here a week and the only two people who have spoken to me are you and this guy." I figured it was best not to mention his name, Mystic Falls was a small town and I didn't feel like having two boys beat each other over me. Shit, who was I? "And you seem nice but I'm being honest with you. I don't want to be a bitch here." Oh god, I needed to get out. I needed to find myself again._

"_Katherine, I should probably go." Damn, I'd lost him already. I really should go. I'd been here a WEEK and I wanted to give up. Fuck._

"_Stefan, please don't. I like you. You could be a great friend but..." I sighed, hating the feeling in my gut right now._

"_Bye Katherine."_

**_..._**

_As I sat there, alone in silence apart from the ticking of the clock that had been left by Mrs Pierce, I knew I had to switch off my feelings. That was one of things I was most grateful about. It meant I could leave places, it meant I could survive without friends, it meant I didn't care when my vampire ways caused death..._

_I would do it when I'm out of this town, I decided. And then I started whipping around in a frenzy, making plans to leave. I grabbed everything essential, but made sure to leave enough so that people thought I was coming back. Which I was, wasn't I?_

_Fuck. Maybe it wasn't the right thing to come back. Maybe I needed a clean break, it would be good for Stefan and- Oh man. Damon. I had to say goodbye, there was no option in that. My hands froze, half way into my bag, and my throat burned. Damon had tasted SO GOOD, maybe I should have a bit of sustenance before I left... After all, it was uncertain how long it would be before I had food again..._

**_..._**

_As I made my way to Damon and mine's meeting spot, I realised that I wanted to be in charge of my own transport. I didn't want to have to use all my energy; I didn't want to keep having to stop and refuel. Yet again I realised how much I needed to turn off my human part when I thought that I didn't want to have to keep killing._

_So, when I saw that creepy-old-man that I had met my first day here, the one who had accidentally caused me to meet Damon, get out of his old banger, I knew what I had to do._

"_Hey, do you remember me?" I smiled, trying to seem wholesome and like a sweet young lady. "No? Oh, you helped me out last week when I was looking for the mayor?" He was staring at me confusedly, and then I _remembered _that I had compelled him to forget me. "Never mind. I was wondering if I could have your car." And I stared into those eyes of his. "Thanks..." I muttered as he handed over the keys. "Bye!"_

_God, that was easy. Old people were just ridiculously simple to compel, they were already confused._

**_..._**

"_I'm leaving, Damon." And, just like I knew he would, he showed the immediate reaction of his mouth falling open. "I'm not sure if I'll be back. I hope so, because I like it here, but-"_

"_It's been like a week."_

"_I know, I know. I have to go." I was beginning to regain my vampiric feeling after it had been lost due to Stefan. And, along with the vampire-side of me came the bitchy side of me. Thank God. "It'll be easy for you, it's not like we were anything but a bit of fun."_

"_You bitch!" He exploded then, oh-so-predictably. "We could have been something more, and you're just bolting? Without any reasoning? How is that fair?" His face was turning redder and redder, and I thought of the blood that must be rushing around his body, and bam. My fangs were out._

"_Damon... I'm not leaving this second. We have about an hour..." And I raised my eyebrows at him, hoping he would get the hint. His babbling slowed down and became quieter, and then I smiled. "If you think that's enough time..."_

_And then he was kissing me. If I could describe it in one word, that word would be passionate. He was kissing me like we didn't have much time left... which I guess we didn't. His hands were in my hair, messing it up. Normally this would bug me (after all, it's always done to perfection) but I couldn't think like that. I could feel him getting more turned on by me, which just made me want to explode._

_My fangs were getting painful, but I knew I didn't want to compel him to forget this. I thought I did but this was way too great for me to ruin it by being a vampire._

_Suddenly I realised we were on the floor. I hadn't even noticed, and I didn't care that there was mud on my clothes, that I was looking like a complete slut, that I was having to control my urges... No. This making out was more than worth that._

"_Wait." Damon broke away and just stared at me, breathing heavily. "I don't want to do this if I'm saying goodbye. Not if this was a bit of fun. As much as I want to... my head tells me otherwise." If I had blood working its way round my body I would be blushing right now. Damon was... rejecting me?_

_That's never happened before._

_Ever._

**A/N: Video title from this fanvid: watch?v=C3mLHCTqq9Y**


	7. Where Is My Mind?

"_You... don't want to sleep with me?" Suddenly I couldn't even pretend to breathe. I was hurting... Shit. For the first time I'd been rejected. No matter what the reasoning, that had never happened before. Never a straight no. I could've maybe accepted a "not right here, let's go back to my place." but something about the no twisted my insides and made me wanted to rip out my dead heart._

"_That's not what I said, Katherine. I don't want to sleep with you right now. Not like this. I'm sorry." I was still finding it impossible to move, to do anything. "Don't look at me like that, you're leaving."_

"_Katherine Pierce does _not _get rejected." My voice suddenly came out all gravelly, and, in a split second, I had flipped Damon over so I was on top of him. Eyes burning, fangs as far out as they could be, I opened my mouth to prepare him for how he was going to -_

"_Shit, Katherine! What the fuck?" He looked scared. Good, he was about to be terrified. Because I was about to kill –_

"_Damon!" I recognised that voice. Where did I recognise that voice? My eyes suddenly stopped burning and I felt human again. _Stefan.

"_HEL-" I immediately covered Damon's mouth with my hand and stared into his eyes._

"_You don't remember this. I was never here; you just know that I was leaving. You'll miss me, sure, but you're not going to talk to anyone about me. Be as depressed as you like, but keep silent." And I stared into his eyes until I saw the fear disappear. Until I had erased every memory of this afternoon._

_Then I was gone._

**_..._**

_How could I have been so stupid? My head screamed as I drove out of Mystic Falls. I could have ruined everything, all because Damon stood up for himself? I'm so dumb. If I had killed Damon, I don't think I could have forgiven myself._

_Suddenly I pushed on the brake, stopping in the middle of a deserted road. I didn't take the main roads. Not ever. Which made the sobs coming out of my mouth less embarrassing. Without realising, I had succumbed to my emotions and tears were streaming down my cheeks._

_A week in Mystic Falls had reduced me to this. I was right to leave. I was right to desert Stefan and Damon. I was right._

_While crying I remembered everything. For whatever reason, I couldn't stop thinking about Mamma, about my Father, about who I had left behind, who I had killed, who I had hurt... and then I thought of Caroline. I didn't even know if she had stayed being a vampire, I didn't know if she had died, or was running around drinking animal blood..._

_Why had I turned her? Everyone thought she was dead, and they blamed me. I didn't kill her, I saved her life..._

_No._

_I closed my eyes, and willed my brain to let go. I thought about everything and I filed it away in my brain. At the _back _of my brain. And then I locked it up. I wasn't the human Katherine anymore, although it could be argued that I hadn't been human Katherine for 500 years. No, I wasn't even a little bit human, with human emotions, and human reactions._

_I was pure, 100% vampire._

**_..._**

"**Damon?" I heard a voice, but I couldn't move through the haze. "Damon, are you okay?" I felt someone put their hands on my shoulder, but I couldn't tell who. I couldn't tell anything anymore. Katherine was gone... That's all I knew. I don't even know if we said goodbye...**

"**Katherine," I got out, and then I closed my eyes.**

"**Katherine? What's Katherine got to do with anything? Damon, how do you know Katherine?" Stefan's voice faded away as I drifted into unconsciousness. Katherine was gone, and I probably wouldn't see her again. And I couldn't deal with that right now.**

**...**

"**Stefan, why the hell are you in my room?" I laughed as I took in his crumpled shirt, his crazy hair and above all, the worried look that was on his face. No doubt I had passed out after drinking last night, and Stefan, being the kind brother he is, had kept Mom and Dad from finding out. But that doesn't explain why he was still in my room, and why I didn't have a hangover...**

"**You were unconscious, Damon. I thought you were- I thought you were dead. But then you started babbling about Katherine, and I don't know. I was worried that something really bad had happened, and-"**

"**You know Katherine? ****_My _****Katherine?" I felt a pang of jealousy as I wondered that. Because, if I had to compete with Stefan for a girl, I would kill him. Katherine was mine. Nobody else's. Except...**

**Katherine left me. She's gone. Did she leave because of Stefan? The jealousy turned into anger as I waited impatiently for Stefan's answer.**

"**No. I don't know anyone called Katherine. You were just muttering about her, and I haven't got a clue why." Stefan looks pained for a second, but when I relax, so does he. Why was I worried so much? How would Stefan have known Katherine? I was a crazy person.**

"**Well, I'm fine now. Doesn't Father want you for work? Because if Father wants you of course good-little Stefan will rush off..." I sigh and hope that Stefan will just fuck off. I needed to think about Katherine and I didn't want to seem like a heartbroken boy in front of my little brother.**

"**Okay, Damon. But whatever you took last night, don't take it again."**

**...**

**I didn't take anything last night, I think to myself. I'm almost sure of it. And I don't remember seeing Katherine yesterday either. So how did I know she had left?**

**Every time I tried to think it was like my brain hit a wall. A thick, brick wall. And the more I tried to think about it, the less I could remember.**

"**Damnit," I hissed to myself, knowing that it wouldn't be long before I began to doubt myself and think that I actually did take something last night. The fact is, I couldn't remember, so how would I know not to take it again?**

**Why the hell did Katherine leave?**

**I need her.**


	8. Old Habits Die Hard

"_Katherine?" I held my phone up to my ear and removed my teeth from the human. I didn't even know his name, and he didn't even taste that nice, but I was bored. And when I'm bored I get hungry._

"_Caroline, is that you?" I could feel the blood around my mouth but was too stunned to remove it. Why on earth was Caroline ringing me? How did she get my number? And I honestly thought she was just a little bit dead._

"_Do you not think I've been keeping tabs on you since you bolted from home? Also, thanks for leaving me when I was a newly-turned vampire. Thanks so much."_

"_But I was-"_

"_-just looking out for yourself, Katherine. You always are." I could hear a giggle in Caroline's voice and I smiled. God, I had missed her. She had been my best friends for those months in Forks, and it was almost a regret of mine that I had to leave. But, when your murdering sprees get found out, you kinda can't stick around for much longer. "Anyway, I was calling because I've been staying in Mystic Falls for the past few months. For the past year in fact. Seems like we just missed each other."_

_The vampire venom-type liquid that I had in my body ran cold. Caroline, a vampire, was in the same town as Damon and Stefan? It was then that I realised that I was dealing with emotions. For whatever reason, I'd been distracted and the door to my human part had been unlocked... Damn._

"_You're in Mystic Falls?" I tried to keep my voice steady, and I hoped that Caroline didn't notice when I failed. Caroline as a human was bitchy and, like me, would do anything to get what she wanted. And if she wanted Stefan or Damon's blood... well, they would be dead right now._

"_Don't worry, Katherine. I wouldn't do anything to harm your precious little Damon... or is it Stefan? Oh wait, it's both. A week in this town and you made such an impression on them both." I breathed a sigh of relief when I knew that both of them were okay, and then I hated myself for still having feelings for them both._

"_Why are you calling then?" I was getting impatient now, but in typical Caroline fashion, she seemed determined to make me wait. In fact, I had time to work out how she got my number, as I'd written it down in my house... Stupid me. "Caroline, I'm busy right now so just tell me. Because let's not forget. I already killed you once. I can easily do it again." In fact, this conversation had better finish quickly as my feed was just coming around. I obviously hadn't taken enough blood._

"_Well, I thought you would like to know that your play things have moved on." She sounded so smug that my mind immediately jumped to the conclusion that it was her. "No, not me. God, Katherine, you've always been so paranoid. It's this girl called Elena. She's plain but apparently that's what the boys go for..."_

"_Thanks, Caroline." My sentence was laced with sarcasm._

"_My pleasure, Katherine. Well, Damon's into Elena and Stefan seems to be pretty focused on his school work. Nerd. But I figure I'll stick around, as I'm guessing you'll be returning to Mystic Falls soon? I mean, I don't know why because you were only here for a week last time. But I do know _you_, and Katherine Pierce can never accept it when people move on from her."_

"_Goodbye Caroline." I let my phone fall to the floor before attaching myself to the human again. Of course, Caroline knew me too well. Once this was over I was getting into my car (which had been upgraded from that old banger the pervy man had given me) and driving back to Mystic Falls, even if it meant I had to face Caroline again._

**_..._**

_There wasn't really much to Caroline and mine's story, I thought as I sped through the roads. I mean, I'd arrived at Forks and made a similar impression on everyone as I made everywhere. But Caroline stood out for me, and she seemed to be the only one who hadn't cared about it. And, obviously, that meant that I wanted to be her friend, if a vampire can truly have friends._

_I worked at that "friendship" and soon Caroline and me were inseparable. I mean, everyone thought we were lesbians, and seeing as, for whatever reason, being a lesbian is hot in a boy's mind, that increased our attraction._

_But, after almost 8 months, I may or may not have bitten and sucked some blood out of Caroline's evil step-father and Caroline may or may not have walked in on the encounter. She freaked out, understandably, but I managed to persuade her round to my way of thinking._

_If I'm completely honest, it was her own fault that she ended up being a vampire. I mean, it was her who suggested us exchanging blood when we were at a sleepover..._

**_..._**

"_Katherine," she whispered as we lay next to each other on the bed, her suitably drunk and me... well, I was just me._

"_Yeah?" Something had changed in the air. It felt more... intense, like something big was about to happen._

"_Why don't we swap blood?" I looked at Caroline immediately and I saw the twinkle of excitement in her eyes. Curiosity, that's all it was, but she had been curious about it for a while. And, although I knew curiosity killed the cat, I had to admit that I was curious too._

"_Caroline, are you sure?" And then, out of nowhere, her lips were on mine. Now, I've existed for 500 years, of course I've had a bit of girl-on-girl action, but never had it been started by the other girl and never, ever, had that girl been my "friend."_

_So I kissed her back for a while, admiring her technique but making sure I stayed in control. But man, keeping my head was difficult when she ended up on top of me and I could smell that sweet, delicious blood of hers moving around her body._

"_Katherine, I want to try it." She breathed against my mouth while leaning her forehead on mine. And, then at least, I couldn't see any negatives to it. So I flipped her over, chuckled at her surprised expression and then used my teeth to rip part of my wrist open. The venom flowed out, and immediately Caroline's lips were attached to it, using her tongue to get all of it. I watched as her eyes rolled into the back of her head, as her hands grabbed mine to try and keep the flow going. Then her body convulsed and she flopped back onto the bed._

"_Caroline?" I couldn't keep the worry out of my voice. Shit, what had I done? My mind was already making plans for escape, but before they had fully formed I noticed that Caroline was giggling. "I hate you sometimes."_

"_I couldn't help myself." She had some of my blood on her lips, but I was still feeling curious, so instead of telling her, I quickly ran my tongue over the evidence of our acts and then we were kissing again._

"_My turn," I moaned into her mouth, and my lips moved to her neck, before my fangs protruded and bit into her throat._


	9. You Know What I Can Do

_While in my nostalgic state, I hadn't noticed that I had already entered Mystic Falls and had probably been parked outside my house for a little while. But I wasn't sure if I could face Caroline. What would she be like? Would she kill me? Or kiss me?_

"_Caroline?" I called out as I walked into my home. No answer. How typical, she's out. I wandered over to my bed and I thought about what had happened the last time I was in this house. Stefan and I had kissed. And then I'd almost killed Damon, and I'd run. Like a coward. Like an idiot. I should have stayed; maybe I could have sorted it out and gone back to being the Katherine that I was now._

_All of a sudden I was aware that I was being watched, and, knowing Caroline as well as I did, I knew that she would want to surprise me. Probably by jumping on me. So I braced myself for the impact._

_What I didn't prepare myself for was the stake that went through my stomach, which promptly exploded. I was screaming, I was crying out, but fuck my life it hurt. Obviously._

_Being a vampire, however, has its advantages, and once the stake was removed it healed pretty quickly._

"_Fuck you, Caroline." I managed to get out, wincing as my stomach reattached itself. And yes, it's as painful as it sounds._

"_What else did you expect? But, now that me almost killing you is out of the way, welcome back!" Caroline wrapped her arms around me, and as much as I hated the pain she had caused me, I conceded that she was perfectly justified. And she was my best friend- damn; I keep forgetting that vampires don't have friends._

"_I hate you sometimes, but I've missed you!" And I hug her back, hoping that she won't try anything else while she's staying in my house._

_Because if she does... I will kill her._

_Again._

**_..._**

"_So, who is this girl, how serious is it, and does it still look like I have a chance?" All the questions spilt out of my mouth when the reunion had died down. Caroline had to know that Damon/Stefan was the only reason I came back..._

"_Like I said, she's called Elena. She's so simple and absolutely no personality whatsoever. She's in the cheerleading squad, and she tells everyone who can breathe that she's got a hot boyfriend who's been in the army. If it were anyone else, I would say that Damon and her seemed happy and weren't going to split up soon. But if anyone can make that happen, it's you."_

"_I'm gonna need your help though. First of all, did Damon move out or anything? Because I overheard his father telling him to start looking..."_

"_Oh, his dad... his dad got killed. By a vampire." Caroline's face became sombre, for a millisecond, before she giggled again. "No, I'm just kidding around. I still can't lie, Katherine, I thought that would have changed with the whole supernatural stuff, but... His father went away on a business trip for a year - some massive merger between his company and some other company on the opposite side of the country, so Damon's managed to stay living at his parents."_

"_Good. I'll see you later."_

_And then I was gone._

**_..._**

_I breathed deeply, trying to calm the nerves that had just appeared. Would Damon even remember me? Would he even care that I was back? Either way, I had to know, and I rapped on the door._

"_Katherine? Is that you?" Oh wow. He answered the door with no shirt on and I found it very hard not to stare at the six pack that obviously came from being in the army. "You're back?" Looking at his face, he seemed neither happy nor sad that I was back. Damn, I was too late._

"_Yeah, I told you it wouldn't be forever." I also told him that I wasn't a vampire, but he didn't know that I lied. "I can go, you're obviously busy. I just wanted to say hey, but..."_

"_No, you're not getting away from me that easily again. Come in, we have a lot to catch up on, I guess." I followed him as he led me upstairs to his bedroom. Where that dream of his took place, where I just pounced on him. That was all I thought about when I looked around, when we both sat down on his bed, when the silence descended on us..._

"_Damon, I'm not back for you. I just thought you should know that." I took great pleasure in the disappointed look that crossed his face at that. "Besides, I hear you have a girlfriend."_

"_How-"_

"_Do you think I would just leave? Damon, I always keep tabs of my previous boys." I smiled at him, seeming innocent but my thoughts were anything but. I was going to kill Elena if Damon didn't try to kiss me before I left._

_And it didn't take long. Although I had claimed that I wasn't back for him, I turned on my full charm and pretty soon after we were devouring each other. It was like he had spent every day of the past 365 days thinking of me, and now that we were actually together, he wanted to make the most of the time we had. Which was probably true._

"_Wait, wait." I broke away for two reasons. One, my fangs had got painful and I didn't want to have a repeat of the last encounter we had. Two, I didn't want Damon to think that I had changed my mind about not returning to Mystic Falls due to him. "You have a girlfriend, don't forget."_

"_Fuck my girlfriend, I want you." And then he was consuming me again. I tried to ignore the vampire side of me that wanted to actually eat him, and tried to focus on the kiss. I say tried because I was failing miserably. All I could smell was him, and I just wanted to... well, feed on him. And that need was just increasing and I knew that at some point I would have to disappear or succumb._

_But in the end I didn't have to make a decision, as an insistent vibrating came between us. Damon pushed himself and checked his phone. I didn't even have to ask who it was, due to the look of guilt that crossed his cute face._

"_Dump her, Damon." I took in both of our states, me with my crazy hair and lacy bra on show, him with _his_ crazy hair and a few scratches across his torso, and I couldn't see how he wouldn't. I mean, that was full on cheating._

_But Damon hadn't answered me, and I knew that there wasn't anything I could do. If he was going to dump her, he would dump her. But if he didn't..._

"_I mean it."_


	10. No Second Shot

"_Caroline," I jumped on top of her when I arrived back home. She'd fallen asleep on the bed and I wanted to shock her. And shock her I did, if the yelp that came out of her mouth was anything to go by. "I need your help." She was staring at me like she hated me, obviously, because I had interrupted her slumber. "Oh, stop it. You love me really."_

"_Whatever." She mumbled, rapidly falling back into her sleep. I groaned and moved off her. Obviously my plan would have to wait until Miss Caroline had decided it was an appropriate time to have a conversation._

_As I lay there, however, the darkness having fallen oh-so-quickly (looks like I spent longer with Mr Salvatore than I thought), I started to remember the night that Caroline had become a vampire..._

**_..._**

"_What the fuck?" Caroline's face went through like a million and one emotions as she saw me lying there, her boyfriend lying next to me, blood starting to congeal around the bite marks on his neck. He had hardly been worth it, but I was hungry. In fact, I was still hungry._

"_Oops." I smiled at her, hoping that seeing as she had cheated on him last night with me gave me a free pass. It made sense, right? To be honest I didn't even think she would be angry, considering that he wasn't dead (just unconscious) and he was a dick - just like her stepfather had been, who I had also NOT killed. Just compelled him to stop being an arsehole to Caroline. And fed from him. And we'd had almost this exact exchange before, ending in her wanting to share blood with me._

"_You absolute whore!" She screeched, and it dawned on me that Caroline could quite happily kill me right now. And hell hath no fury than a woman scorned... or something. So I immediately got on my feet and faced her, while using my amazing vampire mind to remember if there was anything in the room that could be used as a stake._

"_You cheated on him, Caroline. You don't get to sit on your high horse!" I couldn't think of anything, but most things could kill me if they were sharp enough and were stabbed in the right place. But, if people were going to stab you, usually they went for the stomach. God, humans are so stupid, I could hardly believe that I was one of them once..._

"_Fuck you." Caroline seemed less angry, so I breathed a sigh of relief and thought that the whole argument was over. And, when she moved to hug me, stupidly I didn't think that there was anything odd about that. Isn't that what teenage girls did when they finished a fight?_

_It was mid-hug that I felt wrong and I realised that there was something that wasn't arms touching my back. Yet I still didn't back off, I assumed it was something innocent. But then Caroline went in for the kill and, I'm pretty sure, using all the strength she had, staked me. Right in the middle of my chest._

_Obviously, I thought that was it and I cried out, falling straight to the floor. Caroline paused for a second, taking in the fact that she had killed (re-killed?) her best friend over a boy. And, remembering that boy, she went over to him, pulled him up and they left the room._

_She left her fucking best friend to die._

_After a few minutes, it occurred to me that I wasn't going to die, my heart had been missed and all I had to do was remove the sharp thing from my back and everything would be fine._

_Except it wouldn't. Because Caroline Forbes was going to actually die. And I was going to watch as she bled to death. Or maybe I would feed on her until she died. I hadn't decided yet._

**_..._**

"_Caroline Forbes, aren't you surprised to see me?" I smiled as I stood in her window, laughing at her shocked and petrified expression._

"_But..." All the blood had rushed from her face and I felt disappointed. Obviously she wasn't going to be up for me feeding on her - she'd die way too quickly and it would make far too much mess. Shame. I guess I'll just have to kill her the old fashioned way._

"_You thought you'd killed me? Obviously not. Caroline, sweetie. You've known me for a little while now and you thought that you'd just get away with a pathetic attempt to end my life?" I was enjoying this too much, even if Caroline wasn't._

"_Katherine, please." Caroline was looking paler and paler, and if I dragged this along much longer she might end up dying, and not because of me._

"_Begging is pointless. You're going to die, but as I'm nice, I'll let you decide. Would you rather be smothered with one of your girlish pillows or the good old-fashioned way of being knifed? Or, just for a bit of fun, I could throw you out the window?" Then I paused. "Actually, I take it back. You don't get to choose."_

_And in a millisecond I was pushing a pillow into her face. It was good, because it was muffling her screams and it was extremely satisfying to watch as her body just went limp._

_Satisfying indeed._

**_..._**

_Suddenly I was back in the present day, and Caroline was watching me with a peculiar look on her face. Damn, had I fallen asleep? Or, more worringly, had I made some confession during my flashback?_

"_You shouldn't have killed me. Then I wouldn't be like this, and you could have stayed in Forks."_

"_I killed three other people, Caroline. Without blinking." I was being harsh and I knew it but I hated that Caroline thought she was the reason I had left. "I had to leave anyway, regardless of the fact that you had tried to kill me."_

"_Did you know that I had vampire blood still in me?" She looked hopeful, and for once I was sorry to disappoint her._

"_I had no idea. I killed you, without caring. I wanted you dead, just like you wanted me." Caroline blinked, and for a second she looked hurt. But, luckily I had taught her well and the look was gone immediately after. This conversation about the past was finished._

"_So what's this plan? I must admit, even if it hadn't been one o'clock in the morning when you wanted to talk to me about it, I would have been surprised that Miss Katherine Pierce needed my help for something..."_

"_I have a sneaky suspicion that Elena & Damon might last longer than I want. So, in case my current plan doesn't work, I need you to be prepared to kill her."_

"_What? Katherine, you can't be serious."_

"_If you're going to last much longer as a vampire, Caroline, you will do as I say. Otherwise I'll find a stake that has your name on it and drive it through your heart. And this time? You won't get a second shot."_


	11. Kill The Bitch

"_Hi, mind if I sit here?" I was back at school, not for the lessons, of course, but to put in place phase one of my plan. Which involved talking to this Elena girl. As I took her in, I wondered how Damon could go from perfect me to dull and boring Elena. Her brown hair was straight and looked like mud, she wore barely any make up and didn't seem to be clever or witty or anything. She was the kind of girl that was just nice and plain. The girl who you would forget after about 5 seconds. Obviously she put out within a minute, I concluded. Why else would Damon keep her around?_

"_Sure, go ahead." And ugh, that voice. Monotone. I amended my previous assumption. This girl was obviously a virgin, no boy in his right mind would go any further with a girl whose moans sounded the same as her talking voice. "Katherine, right? You just moved back?"_

"_Yeah. I was here for a week last year and family commitments forced me to leave. But I'm back, for good this time." I faced her, knowing that all eyes were on us but also knowing that nobody would dare to get close enough to hear. Most gossips knew that the truth would be so much more boring than the lies that could be made up._

"_Cool." And then she returned to her salad, and I could tell that she hoped this conversation was over. But I was far from done._

"_So I hear you know Damon Salvatore?" I leaned in closer; a ploy used by many a girl to get another to start blurting out secrets._

"_Oh. Yeah, he's my boyfriend, and he's just the best. So sexy, don't you agree? But wait, how do you know Damon?" For a second Elena had a smile on her face and she could have been interesting. But then the insecurity came into play and she went back to being dull-as-dishwater._

"_Sweetie, how could anyone not know Damon? He's the mayor's son, and we got to know each other very well in the time I was here..."_

"_And now you're back." The numbers were adding up in her brain and I felt the satisfaction that I always got from being a bitch. Elena was hoping that I wasn't going to say the next words, but unfortunately for her, I took great pleasure in crushing people's dreams. _

"_Evidently. I wouldn't steal him from you, Elena. But I came back for him. And I always get what I want. So I would save yourself the heartache and just dump him." I froze my butter-wouldn't-melt smile on my face and tried not to enjoy Elena's horrified look that seemed stuck on hers._

**_..._**

"**Hey babe, what's wrong?" Elena never called me unless she needed to vent about something. She seemed to think that the 'treat 'em mean keep 'em keen' thing actually worked. Needless to say, it didn't. But when I texted her insisting that she met up with me, all her will power fell apart and she was like putty in my hands. Except for the thing I actually wanted from her. She claimed that sex was special, and she wanted her first time to... "reflect that"? Whatever. Sometimes I wondered why I kept her around, and then most of the time I came to the pathetic conclusion that I was lonely.**

"**Do you know a girl called Katherine?" My blood ran cold. Shit, was I going to have to dump Elena right now? Because, let's be honest, Katherine was absolutely terrifying and I'm sure she wouldn't be happy to find out that I hadn't broken it off with my girlfriend yet.**

"**She was a girl I hung out with a few times. Why do you ask?"**

"**Because she wants you back and I think she's going to steal you from me!" Ugh, how pathetic. Elena was obviously fishing for compliments, wanting me to say that I loved her and that nobody would be able to steal me from her. Why on earth would I choose Elena over the sexy, unbelievably hot and gorgeous Katherine?**

"**Sorry Elena, I have to go get the door." Which I did. Except I knew who it would be, and I didn't want this conversation to happen.**

"**I love you!" I rolled my eyes and felt my stomach twist. I didn't like fucking around with Elena's emotions, but she was ridiculous. After about a month she'd started throwing around the L word, when I was pretty sure that she didn't even know what it really meant (but then, neither did I...)**

"**Sure." I pressed the red button, happy that I wouldn't have to deal with my girlfriend for a little bit longer. Like I said before - anything to avoid being lonely. Stefan was constantly working (not that it was common for us to hang out and do brotherly stuff), Mom was always at some committee meeting, Dad was on his stupid business trip and my part time job could only keep me so busy.**

**I bounded down the stairs and opened the front door cautiously, pretty certain that I was going to end up being murdered by the person on the doorstep, only to be greeted with Katherine's unimpressed face.**

"**Damon, I thought I told you to dump her."**

**...**

"**I will, I will." I promised, when Katherine had broken off from our kiss to demand that I was available for her. And then we were making out again.**

**After we'd been attached to each other for a little while, I began to notice a pattern. Any time that I moved to start getting further than kissing, Katherine would push me away to order me to break it off with Elena. I'd promise it, then we would kiss and the cycle would start again. I'm pretty sure it wasn't because Katherine was a virgin... In fact I was 100% sure that wasn't the case. So what was the deal?**

"**I'm sure you've noticed, Mr Salvatore. We're not getting any further until you're single. So dump her, or else."**

**...**

"_Caroline, if he hasn't dumped her by tonight, you have my permission to rip the little bitch's throat out." As I walked into the forest, I tried to ignore the jealousy that I felt. Not only did Elena seem to have a grip on Damon, but I didn't even get to kill her. Life just wasn't fair sometimes._

"_Can't I just compel her to leave? Or to dump him or something?" Caroline obviously didn't want to kill her; she was far too sweet for my liking. And ultimately that would be her down-fall. Vampires are stereotypically evil, and if you're too nice, someone who is a proper vampire will turn around and stake you through the heart._

"_Fine. Do what you want. But I want her gone, and if I see her again I will kill you both."_

"_Katherine, you should really stop threatening me. I might think you're serious." With a sigh, I hung up. Suddenly my brain was filled of Stefan, and I realised I hadn't made any plans to get _him_ back. I wonder where he would be right now... Then I remembered what Caroline had said; Stefan would most likely be in the library if she was telling the truth._

_Oh, Stefan. I suppose I should be worried, as Stefan was the reason I had left in the first place. Well, that and me trying to kill Damon. Several times. But Katherine Pierce gets what she wants, and I want both Damon & Stefan. Which could possibly be seen as me being selfish, but who cares about anyone else's opinion when I was going to get the two hottest boys in this town all to myself..._


	12. Sucking The Life Out Of Me

"_Why hello Stefan. Long time no see." As Caroline predicted, he was at the library, hunched over what looked like very old and very boring books. I hadn't seen him at school today though, so Stefan can't have been that dedicated to his education._

"_Katherine." He stared at me for a few seconds, and I couldn't help but notice that he looked extremely similar to Damon. Odd, as I'd never had a type before. "You're back?"_

_I nodded and sat down on the table. It gave the gorgeous Stefan a chance to look at my perfect body in most of its glory, which he did. It seemed that he liked what he saw, as a smile played on his face while doing it. "For good this time." The satisfied smile fell off his face and I knew what he was thinking. "I'm sorry I didn't get to tell you I was leaving, it just happened." Well, I wasn't actually sorry (when am I ever sorry?) but I thought it was the right thing to say._

"_Did you leave because of me?"_

_And then I realised why Stefan had become like he had. He actually liked me but when he got close to me I'd left the same day. So instead of risking it with some other girl he'd focused on his school work, because school work won't have a boyfriend already, and school work can't leave suddenly._

"_Oh, Stefan." I was feeling again, but for once I didn't care. I quickly sat down next to him and stared into those gorgeous blue eyes of his. "Stefan, sweetie. I didn't leave _because _of you. I left because of me. We could have been great friends, but the Damon issue just stopped that-"_

"_Damon Salvatore." He said that as if it was no surprise, yet I hadn't told him the guy's name before. I wasn't planning on ever telling him, but around Stefan I made mistakes._

"_Yeah. It's irrelevant now, because he has some other girl. But what isn't irrelevant is the fact that I'm back now. And I'm single." For now, anyway. But I didn't think it would help my case to mention that I was trying to break up Damon and his other girl. "As are you."_

"_What are you saying?" He was doing that cute triangle gaze thing. Left eye, right eye, lips. And repeat. So I kissed him, making sure to keep it as soft as possible. Stefan wasn't Damon, I don't think he could cope with a passionate kiss just yet. Shame, seeing as I really wanted to throw him against the nearest wall and just ravish him until he could barely think straight._

"_I'll see you soon, Stefan." And I strode away, knowing that those eyes were watching me as I did._

**_..._**

"_Ohmigod yay! You're back!" Caroline was practically bouncing off the walls with a grin on her face. It didn't take long for me to put the clues together._

"_Damon and Elena broke up?" I headed to the kitchen where I immediately got out a bottle of bourbon. I needed it after that encounter with Stefan. Something about him made me forget everything about the past 500 years. I hated it and loved it all at the same time._

"_Yeah! She's heartbroken about it, I saw her in the Grill sobbing over a ginger beer."_

"_How pathetic, she can't even drink alcohol." While saying that, I started drinking the bourbon, straight from the bottle. The worst thing about being a vampire was that it took a lot of alcohol to get me drunk. It sucks at times like these when I absolutely needed to get drunk._

"_What's wrong, Katherine? I thought this was what you wanted... Now you have Damon, and Stefan will soon follow..." Caroline seemed disappointed that I wasn't joining her in her delight. But how could I when Stefan had unintentionally made me feel something?_

"_Nothing. I should go see Damon." I pursed my lips, knowing that I was hungry and this wouldn't be fun to go through without a bit more alcohol and a lot more blood in my system. So I gulped down the rest of the bottle, before heading for the fridge to get a blood pack. Yum... not. Drinking blood was a necessity, like eating food was for humans. But, just like a human, that didn't mean I had to enjoy it always. In fact, there was nothing like warm blood, straight from the vein, with the person involved moaning slightly..._

"_Why don't you just feed on Damon? I thought he would be into something like that." Caroline was so naive and it was getting on my nerves. So I ignored her and tried to enjoy the cold blood that was making its way down my throat. "Katherine?" So irritating, but she didn't get the hint. "Katherine, I asked you a question!"_

_I whipped around, grabbed the nearest stake-shaped object (which happened to be a pair of scissors) and, without thinking, rammed it into Caroline's stomach. She cried out, but I didn't give a shit. Maybe now she would learn her lesson to just shut up and accept that I was the one who was in charge here. _

_I was the one who would always be in charge._

_..._

"_I dumped her," he shouts as I walk through his front door. And he repeats it several times, while looking expectantly at my face. Oh right, I'm supposed to be happy about it._

"_So does that mean we're... ugh, boyfriend and girlfriend now?" I smiled, hoping that it seemed genuine. As happy as I was about Damon's newly single status, I couldn't shake Stefan from my mind, as always. Questions left unanswered, like: how did he know Damon's full name? How come I felt so human around him? How come I barely knew him but felt like we had some deeper connection?_

"_Yes. You're my girlfriend." He laughed at that, as if he couldn't think how he managed to bag a girl as hot as me. Which is what he should be doing. "And, as my girlfriend, you have to meet the parents."_

"_But I thought your Dad was away?" I started walking up his stairs, knowing that he would follow me like a little lap dog._

"_He comes back tomorrow night, so we're having a gathering. Of course, tomorrow night will be my last night at home, seeing as he's chucking me out." His voice took on a different tone and if I was a caring person, I would give him a hug and tell him he could stay at mine and that his father was a fool for not seeing his true potential._

"_Wait, what?" I turned around. Damon was going to be homeless? But where on earth would we have sex? I couldn't have sex at my place; Caroline would be interrupting every five seconds! I dreaded to think..._

"_Yeah. I don't know, I guess I'll crash at a friend's place." I rolled my eyes, knowing that I could sort it out in no time. Only problem is that I would have to go to this party, and it sounded incredibly dull. Oh well, it would be worth it to finally get Damon's hot body into bed._

_Looks like I'm back to my normal self. I smiled at that, before realising that we had arrived in Damon's bedroom. I lay down on his bed and slipped off my jacket, before summoning him to join me with a crook of my finger._

_..._

"_Not tonight, Damon, honey." His hands kept trying to get under my panties, but I didn't feel in control enough to do it. "Tomorrow night. I promise." _


	13. How Typical

**As I looked at myself in the mirror and marvelled at my dashing good looks, I wondered about Father's upcoming reaction to Katherine. There would obviously be the 'she's far too good for you,' then the 'does she mind that you're a complete failure?' and then the 'maybe she should go out with Stefan instead.'**

**It had been nice these past few months, without Dad breathing down my neck, without Mom being his lap dog, without being constantly compared to Stefan. But the time for fun was over, and all my bags were packed, ready to be thrown out tomorrow. Joy.**

"**Damon? Will you come downstairs please, there's someone here to see you..."**

**I decided I had a little bit more time, and carried on thinking. It was great to have Katherine back, but I couldn't help but wonder two things. One, why she had such an effect on me when she had only been here a week, and two, how was this girlfriend-boyfriend thing going to work? Katherine really didn't seem like the monogamous type, but then, neither did I. I'd barely managed it with Elena.**

"**Damon, if you don't come down, I'll come up and force-" Mom broke off half way through her sentence, she never does that. So I started to worry again. If tonight became anything but perfect I would hate myself forever, and Katherine would probably refuse to see me ever again, and I would probably return to the army just to deal with the crippling depression.**

"**Damon, let me in." I would recognise that voice anywhere, and I felt a weight being removed from my shoulders, a weight I didn't even know that I was carrying. I guess I didn't know if she would really come...**

"**Hello Kath-" My words got caught in my throat as I realised how gorgeous she truly was. Her usually curled hair was straightened, her lips were a berry red and I just wanted to have my way with her right now. And then I took in her outfit, which sounds camper than I want it to. But her long legs were on show, and it was really low cut and she just looked... Wow.**

"**What's wrong, darling?" My stomach twisted when she called me that, and I felt stupid for ever doubting that this relationship would work.**

"**You look... just, wow." My voice sounded croaking and I felt like an idiot but she was too beautiful for words.**

"**I know," she smiled at me and I couldn't stop myself. I just kissed her, not caring that we were supposed to be making a public appearance, not caring about my Dad, or that we could be seen, not caring about anything but her. My fingers traced patterns up her thighs, and I was trying to be slow and torturous, instead being clumsy and awkward. It had the same effect, though, as Katherine was gasping when my lips moved to her neck.**

**But then something clicked. I guess she realised that the door was wide open and that anyone could hear us.**

"**Damon, I have to officially meet your parents, I'd rather not do it after we've just had sex!" But she's still smiling and not breathing properly, so I hold on to the thought that she'll insist we leave the party early. "And stop looking so smug, Mr Salvatore."**

**...**

"**Welcome back, Dad!" I hug him, hoping that he manages to not embarrass me in the few minutes that we'll be in front of my girlfriend.**

"**I hear that we're meeting a special person of yours tonight, Damon?" Mom's obviously warned him, and suddenly I catch the look that she's giving Katherine. Like Katherine's some tart. And I hate her for it.**

"**Yeah, this is my girlfriend, Katherine." Strangely enough, Dad doesn't do his pervy stare. Even as she stands up, highlighting those legs of hers... Wait, I'm doing the pervy stare now. Focus, Damon! "Katherine, this is my dad."**

"**Pleasure to meet you, Giuseppe. May I call you Giuseppe?" She smiles that angelic, butter-wouldn't-melt smile and I honestly don't know how I'm going to last the next few hours without picking her up, taking her to my room, throwing her down on my bed and having my way with her.**

"**Of course. Are you new to town?"**

"**I've recently returned. I was only here for a short time last year, and although I wanted to meet the mayor of the town, I never got an opportunity to." My girlfriend takes my Dad away, and it seems like they get along. But Mom's standing there, with a face like a slapped fish and I know what's coming.**

"**Just say it, Mom."**

"**She looks a little... inappropriate." Something in my facial expression causes Mom to save it for later, and she heads off, mumbling something about Stefan.**

**I'm still watching the encounter between my Dad and Katherine, and they still seem to be getting along. Then the smile's wiped off Katherine's face and I start to worry. If my Dad has messed this up for me...**

**...**

"_You'll let Damon stay here, right? Even if he doesn't choose to go back?" I'm aware that Damon is watching us, but this has to happen. I need to make this right for him; it's my job as his girlfriend. Giuseppe nods and I start smiling again, especially as I can see Damon move towards us. "Damon, darling. Your Dad was just telling me that he's changed his mind and you can stay here for as long as you like. Isn't that great?"_

_Damon puts an arm around me protectively and I move so my body fits nicely against him. Sometimes compelling comes in such handy._

"_Is this true, Dad?" I frown at Giuseppe, wondering why he is taking so long to answer. Had he been taking vervain? Oh god, my existence at this town was already doomed._

"_Yes, Damon." And then he blinked and was back to his mayor-type self. You know, cheerful, positive, seeming intelligent but not actually. "Oh, Damon, I want to introduce you to someone. Although you might be staying here free of rent, you still need a job. Do you mind if I steal him, Katherine?"_

"_Not at all. I'll talk to you later, darling." Damon kisses me on the cheek and I realise how easy it is with him. We'd be like that old couple who are perfectly fitted, the power couple... the power couple who aren't in love but are friends._

_Yes, friends. I could do that. Friends with benefits, maybe. I just couldn't stand the idea of being with someone who it was impossible to keep control around. I want Damon. But every time we're together, all I can think is how good he tasted, and how much I would like to make him moan as I drew blood from the vein in his neck..._

"_Penny for your thoughts?" I recognise the voice and I turn around to find its source. He's standing there, looking absolutely dashing in a suit._

_Stefan._


	14. Lose Control

"_Hi!" For once I'm shocked. How could Stefan be here? And how could I pretend to be in love with Damon when the guy I also like is here? "What- what are you doing here?"_

"_I'm... close with the family." He doesn't seem upset to see me here or anything, which makes the situation even more confusing. He doesn't care that I'm in a relationship with Damon? He's not gonna do anything to jeopardise the relationship? "Damon and I have known each other for a very long time."_

"_Oh. I didn't realise...Does he know that me and you-"_

"_No, of course not. Have you seen him when he's angry? I quite like my heart beating thanks." My stomach twisted at that. How much I had forgotten that my own heart wasn't beating... that it wasn't blood running through my veins and arteries, that I didn't even have to breathe..._

"_Wow, this is a shock. Because I was _not_-" And then I remembered that I had told Stefan that I was single and my mouth fell open. "Oh shit, you know that I didn't lie to you in the library. I _was _single when I spoke to you, but then Damon and Elena broke up and..."_

"_They broke up because of you, am I right?" Too ashamed to even speak, I just nodded. "If you want Damon, be with Damon. But don't fuck around with my head, Katherine."_

"_My real name's Katerina." I blurted out, desperate to somehow make things right with him. "I changed to Katherine because it's less noticeable, and I didn't want anyone to find me." I paused, thinking about my past briefly while my possible future was falling apart in front of me. "Nobody knows... except you."_

"_Why are you telling me this?" Stefan pinched his nose, something I'd noticed that he did when he was stressed. I made him stressed, and I made him sad, and I hated that._

"_Because I'm not fucking with your head, Stefan. I like you. The Damon thing... it just happened." We were sharing a moment, and it felt like me and him were in our own private world. I was staring into those eyes, but not thinking anything. I didn't want to compel him, because I meant it. I _did _like Stefan, regardless of Damon..._

"_Katherine, I see you've met Stefan!" Damon's voice suddenly came out of the crowd and I jumped, back in the real world. Damn, I was a nervous wreck tonight, I needed a drink... But what kind?_

"_Actually, Stefan and I have History together, but we haven't spoken." I noticed that Damon put his arm around my waist possessively and shot his friend a look that spoke volumes._

"_And maths and French." Stefan butted in and Damon's eyes burnt. He was... jealous. Did he have anything to be jealous about?_

"_How... nice." Something had changed in the air and I was a little bit worried that there was going to be a fight. "Stefan, I think Dad wants you." Wait- Dad? Stefan looked pained for a second and I realised that he wasn't going to tell me that the guy I chose over him was actually his brother... Oh god, this just got a lot more complicated. "Go." I looked back to Damon and he actually looked terrifying, even to a vampire like me._

_But Stefan obeyed, thank goodness._

"_Why didn't you tell me you knew my brother?" That terrifying gaze was now directed at me._

"_I didn't know he was your brother, and we've barely spoken. Damon, stop it!" He had gripped my arms and although it didn't hurt at all, I thought it should. "Damon, why don't we leave? We've been here an hour, that's more than enough." And then I thought to myself how his anger could be used in more productive ways and I knew that if Damon didn't want to leave, I did. But his grip didn't loosen. "Damon, why don't we go up to your room?"_

_I stared into those still-angry eyes of his and felt his hands relax. And then, suddenly, he was grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the door. I hoped that nobody noticed, I didn't want either of us to get the reputation of a slut..._

_But, of course, Mrs Salvatore was staring at me with eyes that told me to be careful. Eyes that told me to not, under any circumstances, break Damon's heart. Or she would break my bones._

**_..._**

"_Damon, stop, wait!" I giggled as he kissed my neck in a way that made all my blood rush. I couldn't think straight, and I knew where that would lead._

"_No!" he growled and I laughed again. His expert hands had already taken off most of my clothes while we were making out on our way to his bed, and when he'd broken away from our kiss to throw me onto the duvet, he'd removed most of his as well._

"_But we're still semi-dressed..." I could feel his hard-on against me and I knew that resistance was futile. This was going to happen immediately, and he growled again, pushing me deeper into the bed with his mouth._

_So I just let it happen, trying desperately to control my teeth as his lips carried on caressing me..._

**_..._**

_When I woke up the next morning my eyes were already burning. Damn, Damon looked so tasty lying there, his hair all tousled from my hands running through it, red scratches on his shoulders where I'd clung to him in my state of pleasure, and that six pack, showing that he was nearly strong enough to take me..._

_Oh, I needed to leave. So, as quietly as I could, I slipped out of the bed and headed for the door, Damon's shirt still on my shoulders._

"_I hope you're not leaving Katherine." Damon mumbled, still half asleep. But half awake too, and I didn't want to ruin the nearly perfect night._

"_I'm just going to get a drink. Is your Mom-"_

"_They have a separate kitchen. Mine is on this floor, its fine." And I watched as he fell asleep again, but I couldn't help but notice he winced as fabric rubbed against his scratches. I should really have been gentler with him..._

_I padded across the landing until I got to the kitchen door. But I heard music in there, so I paused. And then I heard Stefan start singing along. He had such a recognisable speaking voice, of course his singing was just as._

_I pushed open the door, hoping he wouldn't notice, but he spun around just at the wrong time and caught me._

"_Hi, Stefan."_

"_Katerina." I froze in my position. God, it terrified me to hear somebody else call me that. It reminded me of Klaus... the life that I had many moons ago. "Did you and Damon have a good time last night?" I opened my mouth to answer, but then Stefan held up his hand. "I don't want to hear you say it; I already heard most of it."_

"_Stefan, sweetie..." it broke my heart to see his face. Well, not actually, seeing as I don't have a heart that could be broken, but whatever._

"_Katherine, don't. Don't act like you're sorry, because you're not. You like Damon, and he's completely infatuated with you. So if you're happy, then I can try and be happy for you." I sigh and I know that there's no point arguing with him. But... he does deserve the truth._

"_I meant what I said last night, Stefan. I _do _like you. And if I could, I would be with you both." I walk over to him, put my hands on his cheeks and look into his gorgeous blue eyes; the eyes that make me feel human again. "And that's not going to change." I knew it was only a few seconds before Stefan's lips would be on mine, but Damon was sleeping in the next room so I stepped back._

"_I like you too, Katerina. But I understand. Even though you like everyone to think that, you're not a bitch." Stefan's sigh echoed my exact feelings, desire, want, greed, sadness... and then he walked out of the kitchen._


	15. Hurts To Be The Playee

_Wake up._

_Go to school._

_Avoid Stefan._

_Finish school._

_Meet Damon._

_Make out._

_Come back home._

_Drink with Caroline._

_Blood pack._

_Damon's._

_Sex._

_Wake up._

_Go to school._

_..._

_Routines were monotonous and boring, which is not something I like, and it's certainly not something that I stand for as a vampire. So, when Damon suggested us celebrating our 4 month anniversary, I knew that something had to change. And that something meant feeding on my "boyfriend." Ugh, I hated calling him that._

_It was the morning, and I felt Damon's hands snake around my waist. Although usually I would let him hold me for a bit, but today, I struggled, giggling as Damon became more persistent. And then I turned around and straddled him, knowing that my teeth were out._

"_What-" his eyes opened wide, but he didn't seem scared. In fact, he seemed the opposite, as his hand moved up to touch one of my fangs._

"_I'm a vampire, Damon. And you can't tell anyone." It became second-nature to compel him whenever I wanted him to do something, and his mind had become so open to me that it took next-to-no effort. "Also, I'm hungry." And with that, I sunk my teeth into his throat. God, his blood tasted better than I remembered. I moaned, and Damon relaxed under me. It wasn't often that I cared about how it was for the human, but this time I made sure to be as gentle as possible and try to convey some love through my mind._

"_Katherine?" When it was all over I lay there, waiting for Damon to speak first. And speak first he did._

"_Yes, darling?" I wasn't at all worried about it, I knew that I could just compel him to not tell anyone, or compel him to let me feed on him, or compel him to jump off a cliff- oh, that sounded appealing._

"_I want to be one of you."_

_I was _not_ expecting that. At all._

**_..._**

"_You want to die?" I made sure Damon knew what being a vampire entailed. "You want to be able to watch as everyone that you've ever loved dies?" I was remembering what it had been like when I had turned; it was either turn or be killed by Klaus in that damn ritual of his. And then he had gone and killed all my family. All of them. Every single one._

"_Yes. I know what it means. I don't mind feeding on animals-"_

"_Humans, Damon. We feed on humans. Vampires kill people." I paused, unsure whether to run from the house or just turn him straight away. "Damon, I can't deal with this. You-" and then I remembered the compulsion that I had been so willing to do a few seconds ago. So I jumped on top of him and tried to look him in the eyes. But he kept moving his head._

"_Every time I look you in the eyes, Katherine... I lose all willpower. So I'm not doing it."_

"_Fine." I tried to seem upset, to play the role of the girlfriend I was supposed to be. "I'll just never talk to you again."_

_And I stormed out._

**_..._**

"**Damon!" What the hell was Father doing home? It was a Friday, when he did that work experience thing with my beloved brother Stefan... Unless he had finally realised that Stefan wasn't as perfect as he tried to make out.**

"**Damon, I want you to go away for a while. We need to refurbish and you'll just be a nuisance, always hanging around with that girl of yours." Father was just on his way out, I could see Stefan dotingly following him.**

**I agreed, hoping that Katherine would still be coming around this evening, even after our fight. But I wasn't changing my mind. If changing meant that I could be with Katherine forever, I was going to change. Because... I loved her. I was 21, it was time to settle down and find the girl I was meant for. Except, I had already found her. And I didn't want anyone else, ever.**

"**Damon, the painters are coming this afternoon, you better start packing. You can go visit your Gran; she misses you." On that bombshell, Father turned and headed away from me. No goodbye, then.**

"**Wait, Stefan." He had been about to follow Father, like the brown-nose that he was, but I needed him for a favour. I didn't want Katherine to think I had left because of our fight. "Tell Katherine, if you see her that I didn't leave because of her and that I didn't have a choice?"**

**...**

"_He left because of you. I got to admit, Katherine. It doesn't look good for you two." Stefan looked apologetic and suddenly I couldn't breathe. I had come to sort things out, to talk about it, maybe even to agree to his demands, but..._

"_He's gone?" Stefan nodded. "Will he be back?"_

_A pause. A shrug._

_It hurts more than it should._


	16. Looking Back

"_Katherine?" I turned around from the doorway to face Stefan. We stared at each other, words building up inside both of us; words that I had wanted to scream out the whole evening. Stefan was the sweetest, kindest, most perfect person in the whole world. He was too good for me, but I didn't care. I wanted him more than I wanted anything else. And he'd managed to make me push the Damon situation to the back of my mind. "I'm sorry about you and Damon. Whatever the fight was about... I would never have left you."_

"_Oh, fuck it." I sighed and walked back to him, took his face in my hands and crushed my lips to his. I couldn't stand it anymore. Our first kiss had been sweet, it had been full of tenderness, a little curiosity, and it signalled the beginning. This kiss was just the opposite. As his tongue slipped into my mouth I knew exactly where this was going. Passion and love burning through both our veins. I didn't have a boyfriend anymore, Damon was nothing to me anymore... I had nothing holding me back._

_Somehow Stefan managed to stand up without breaking off from our kiss. His hands cupped my butt, and we moved backwards, synchronised in our movements. We managed to get halfway up the stairs without falling over, but when we did, we still didn't separate. I wanted to taste, to feel every bit of his perfect body._

"_Katherine..." He chuckled against my neck. "We should really move, unless you want to do this on the stairs, where anyone could walk in..." I moaned, not wanting him to leave me, even if only for a second, but I knew he was right. So I stood up and found my way to his room._

_Once in there, our lips attached again. My hands were around his neck and he was clutching at me. We fell onto his bed and I mewed against his mouth. His hands were undressing me, slowly, before exploring this new part of me that he hadn't seen before. When I was naked he pushed me away, just to stare at my body, his mouth forming a perfect 'o.'_

_I didn't like being the only one naked, so I started to undress him. I amazed at his flat stomach, the skin an almost bronze colour. I wanted him so bad, and not just his body. I didn't want his blood... I felt human. I slipped off his trousers and kissed his hip bones before tugging his underwear down with my teeth._

"_Katherine, wait." I was just about to take his hardness into my mouth but something in his voice made me stop. "I want this to be perfect. Don't even bother with _that._" I smiled at his facial expression, so desperate for the romantic experience that everybody wanted their first time-_

"_Stefan, have you done this before?" I climbed up so that I was lying next to him, thinking that pillow talk was usually for after the sex._

_He shook his head, a little ashamedly. I can't say I was surprised, he had constantly been attached to his books for the past year, if Caroline is to be believed, and with a father like his... well, spare time was limited._

"_Then shh, and let me show you how it's done." I pushed him further back into the bed as I got on top of him. As slowly as I could, I lowered myself down onto him. I couldn't help the groan that escaped me as I watched his face turn to an expression of pure bliss._

_My mind wandered, although I didn't want it to. And I began to think about _my_ first time..._

_..._

"_Katerina, this is wrong of us!" The boy... I don't even remember his name; let's say he was called Eric. Myself and Eric had been friends for a long time, since we were kids. And he had been in love with me since I could remember. He never told me, of course, but I caught him looking at me, smiling at me, touching me (no, not like that) at every available opportunity..._

"_Eric, are you in love with me or not?" My dress was beginning to itch and I was just aching to get it off. Mother and Father had been preparing for the village leader's visit, and as a result I had been forced into this monstrosity. Also as a result my Father and I had a fight because he claimed I was being disrespectful. I was 20 years old, why on earth would he not leave me alone?_

"_I beg your pardon?" I smiled at Eric's shocked face._

"_If you are in love with me, then how could anything that comes from that be wrong? This is a natural way of showing our love, is it not?"_

"_You- love me?"_

"_Of course I do, Eric. Now we haven't got much time." And I untied my dress and let it fall to the floor. "Kiss me."_

_..._

"_Katerina..." We were getting dressed after our experience. Besides the slight discomfort, I didn't feel any different. I didn't feel any more like a woman... Disappointing. "I suppose we should get married now." I had been purposely avoiding his intense gaze until those words fell out of his mouth, and then my head snapped up._

"_Sorry, pardon?" Eric seemed surprised that the thought hadn't gone through my mind. I supposed that he had assumed that I was like every other woman, even though we had been friends since we were babes._

"_We just made love. Our friendship cannot go back from this and therefore we shall be wed. I cannot wait to tell my Father, he shall be so happy!"_

"_Eric, we're not getting married. I don't want to get married to anyone, I want to explore, I want to get out of this town. I want to sail across the Ocean until I fall off the world. Marriage is not happening."_

"_But Katerina!" I picked up my skirt and began to run off, only just realising now what it would mean for me if this got out. Unfortunately for me, it became impossible to hide the truth after a few months..._

_..._

"_Katherine..." Stefan was stroking my hair after our experience. I was smiling to myself. That had been amazing. And, as much as I wanted to taste Stefan's blood, during it, I hadn't even been tempted. "I suppose we should tell Damon."_

"_Tell him what? Me and him are over, I'm perfectly free to move on to whoever I want. And, luckily for you, I want a certain Stefan Salvatore." I tried to ignore the feeling in my chest when I thought about what had been Damon._

"_So are we together now?" I smiled against his neck. An obvious question. What was the correct answer? The Damon issue was still around... and always would be, no matter what I had just said._

"_Ask me after Round Two." A chuckle escaped from Stefan before he lifted me up to kiss him again._


	17. I'm Not Stupid, Either

"_Stefan, it's me!" I knocked lightly on the door of the Salvatore house, wondering why he hadn't let me in already. More importantly, why on earth had he been avoiding me like the plague today? Is it because I looked too hot? Was he having doubts about us? I didn't know. All I knew was that Stefan and I had been spending almost every waking moment together and then suddenly I woke up this morning, and he wasn't there with me._

"_Stefan?" I was about to turn and walk around the back; about to try and get in some other way, but before I could, the door was flung open. And there stood Damon._

"_Katherine, what are you doing here?" Not quite the Salvatore brother I wanted to see, but I suppose we needed to have this discussion. May as well kill two birds with one stone._

"_I'm here to see Stefan, isn't that obvious?" God, Damon looked hot. Hotter than I had remembered him to be. And of course my mind started wandering back to how he had tasted, how good his body felt under me..._

"_Of course. You were desperate for me to leave, weren't you? It gave you the perfect excuse to get with my perfect brother." Damon's voice sounded bitter; and I couldn't understand it._

"_You dumped me; you can't make me feel bad for being happy, Damon."_

"_What? Katherine, I never-" his voice broke off and out of the corner of my eyes I could see his hands ball into fists. "Stefan told you I dumped you, didn't he?" Confused, I nodded. Where was the conversation heading? And then Damon turned his back on me and ran up the stairs, without any more words spoken._

"_Damon?"_

_..._

"**You bastard." I stormed through his door. My perfect little brother seemed surprised to see me, to hear me insult him. "Don't lie to me anymore, Stefan. You lied to her. You purposely made her think that I didn't want to be with her anymore so that you could swoop in and fuck her, didn't you?"**

"**Damon-" his voice sounded weedy and pathetic, or maybe that was just him all over?**

"**No apologies. Go downstairs and tell her what you did." Stefan didn't move, frozen with fright? "Fucking hell, Stefan. Do it." I leaned against the wall to let him hurry past me, a smile playing on my lips as I realised that Katherine was mine again. She hadn't really had any feelings for Stefan, she was hurt because he had lied to her, and he had taken advantage of that like the asshole he really was.**

**These past couple of weeks - months, maybe? - I'd thought that Katherine was over me, that she didn't like me anymore. And I'd hated myself every single day for asking what I had asked of her.**

**...**

"_You lied to me?" I had worked it out already, the expression on Damon's face hadn't hidden much. And then there was the vampire hearing that meant that I knew everything that had gone on upstairs. "Why?" I knew the answer to that too._

"_Because I wanted to be with you, Katherine. But you wouldn't cheat on Damon." He seemed regretful, and for a second I didn't know what I was supposed to do. Damon would kill Stefan if I stayed with Stefan, but I wanted both of them._

_And Katherine Pierce always gets what she wants. The past centuries have proven that._

"_Stefan, I need some space." Sure, that sounds like a thing I should say. "Tell Damon..." I paused, making sure that Stefan's eyes were locked with mine. "Tell Damon to meet me at our usual place." Stefan's eyes dilated, and I sighed. The first time I had compelled him. It didn't feel as good as it should._

_..._

"**Katherine?" My heart stopped when I saw her sitting there, looking just as perfect as the first time I had ever seen her. ****_I love you. _****The words were just sitting on my lips, ready to escape. All previous anger at Stefan seemed pale in comparison to how I felt towards him now. Katherine was ****_mine. _****Mine and no one else's.**

"**Damon, I didn't know. I thought we were over, I wouldn't ever have-"**

**In three seconds or less I was kissing her. Kissing her to show her that I loved her, to show her that Stefan didn't matter, that she was mine now and that's all that was important. All that ever would be important. Her hands moved around my neck and I moaned against her mouth, despising the past two weeks that we had spent apart.**

"**Damon, not now. I can't." Her lips were still too close to mine though, too close for me not to kiss her. "Damon, please. Stefan was dumb, but he's still your brother and he deserves a proper goodbye-"**

"**No." My voice sounded like steel, even to me. "I don't want you seeing him or having anything to do with him anymore."**

"**Damon, darling. He's your brother, I can't just avoid him for the rest of his life." For a while I had forgotten that her life didn't end. That our time was always going to be limited; that Katherine and I would never last for her ever.**

"**So turn me."**

"**Damon, please. Not this."**

"**Hear me out. If you turn me, I'll be technically dead. We can leave here and never look back. Never worry about Stefan or anything. It will be us two together. Forever." I was desperate, even I'll admit that. But I couldn't be with Katherine knowing that Stefan could easily take her away from me again.**

**She looked me in my eyes. "Damon, you won't keep worrying about Stefan. You don't think I'll leave you for him again, do you?" And then I felt my entire worries slide away.**

"**Okay, Katherine."**

"**And you're not going to kill him. Promise me." Her eyes didn't meet mine that time...**

_..._

_I guess I wanted to see if he would really do it. If he really cared about me enough to kill his own brother for me._

"_I promise. Now kiss me again."_


	18. I'm Talking About A Whole Lot Of History

"_Caroline, you know how I said I would kill you if you didn't do what I told you to?" I put the phone to my ear the second Damon had left me._

"_No, I don't remember that. When did you tell me?" Caroline seemed confused. And quite rightly so, seeing as it was about midnight and I had never told her that._

"_Just now. So you're going to bring Elena back for me." I smiled as I said that, knowing that it would just make Caroline even more disordered. She liked to pretend that she was totally with it and in control of most things in her life, so it was nice to just remind her who was really in charge here._

"_Wait, what? You spent like a week-" although not a long time in normal world, for a vampire that was way too long to scheme. "-plotting her demise. Why do you want her back?"_

"_Just do it. Let's be honest, you don't have a choice." I hung up, still smiling. Elena was a loose end, and I like mine tied up. At any point she could come back and my whole illusion of being a sweet girl would be ruined. Also I needed to give my darling Salvatore brothers a distraction, seeing as I was planning on dating them both..._

_..._

"_Stefan, we need to talk." He had been avoiding me... or was it the other way around? Either way, my plan hadn't been put in place and it needed to._

"_What's there to talk about? You're with Damon. Simple as. I messed up." Stefan had reverted back to the old-Stefan. The one before we had been together, the one who spent hours upon hours hunched over books in the library._

"_Stefan, sweetie. You saw how Damon was. He was terrifying that night." I sat down next to him and put a fake smile on my face._

"_Wait... are you saying my brother forced you into getting back with him?" Ahh, Stefan. So easy to manipulate._

"_That's not what I said. I didn't say anything, don't tell him!" I purposely made my voice get higher and I stood up to leave. As I knew he would, Stefan jumped up too and hugged me. I enjoyed feeling his chest against me, smiling as I smelt that blood that was running around his body... "I want to be with you, but Damon..."_

"_We'll figure it out. We'll figure it all out." In a sweet gesture, Stefan kissed the top of my head. It was the first time someone had done that since Elijah... but back then it was when he knew it was the last time he would see me..._

_..._

"_The problem with my brother is that he has little concern for any rules but his own." We were both breathing heavily... Playing chase does that to people. "And yet women continually fall for his charm..."_

"_Indeed, he is very charming." It was difficult to stop myself from completing my sentence. After all this is Klaus' brother. Word could get around and then I will have lost everything once more. It was a foolish mistake that had caused me to end up here, and I was hesitant to let my guard down and risk it._

"_And yet...?" It had been quite plain on my face what I was thinking. Elijah knew me too well, after all, he had become almost my friend this past month._

"_He seems to not care for me at all. I can't think why he courts me." I was struggling against the tears that threatened to fall. Why couldn't it have been Elijah who had wanted me?_

"_Many a union has been built on much less..." Elijah spoke from experience... and I wondered how. Had Elijah himself married someone? Or had one of his other brothers done this, and Elijah had watched from afar?_

"_Is it wrong to want more?" Is it wrong to want more with Elijah? His brunette hair was moving in the wind, and it was taking all my strength not to touch him. Nothing untoward, nothing that would ruin my reputation as my "touching" had back home... although I doubted that Klaus would think of it as innocent. Although he didn't seem to want me, he was certainly against anyone else having me._

"_With Trevor? I do believe he-"_

"_Trevor believes that he loves me." Oh, Trevor. The sweet little boy- little he was not, yet I couldn't help myself from thinking of him like that. But, sitting here with Elijah... talking about both the man who is courting me and the boy who wishes to... this was dangerous ground. "But true love is not real, unless it is returned." In that second I wanted Elijah to kiss me. To confess his love for me. True love._

_Instead he was staring at the ground, at the sky... anywhere but me. Sitting there with this pained expression on his face, as if he had loved but the woman had died. Perhaps I was being stupid and he was instead just feeling sorry for me. Pity, how I loathed it._

"_I do not believe in love."_

_So abrupt. So sudden. It was difficult to conceal my surprise. "That is too sad for me to accept, my lord." I suppose I was trying to convince him. If he had felt pity, then surely he would stop me from feeling so sad again. Surely. "Life is too cruel." He was staring at me for once. I couldn't tell if it was truly pity in his eyes or still that haunting pain. "If we cease to believe in love, why would we want to live?"_

_The pity/pain look flared once more. Elijah definitely had lost someone, but the smile on his face that appeared... a true smile, perhaps... it told me that he had been lying. He did believe in love. But then an expression of pure shock appeared on that beautiful, handsome face of his. I didn't need to ask why._

_Klaus had returned. This conversation and this fun time was over._

_..._

"_Katherine?" I was still in Stefan's arms._

"_I have to go, Stefan. Like you said. We'll figure it out." And I walked away as quickly as I could, without seeming suspicious._

_Elijah knew. During that conversation, he knew that I would die that night. One way or another. He knew that Klaus wanted to kill me to remove this curse that had haunted vampires and werewolves from the start._

_Why on earth didn't he tell me? Is it possible that I was wrong all along... that Elijah had no feelings for me at all?_


	19. Forever & Always

"_I won't let you do it." Caroline was standing in front of the house, looking more fierce than I had ever seen her. Her jaw was set and her hands were on her hips and her eyes were already burning, looking furiously at me._

"_Let me do what, Caroline? Because let's not pretend that you actually have a say in my plans." Although I had been weak while with Stefan, my nostalgia had reminded me that Katherine Pierce did not get hurt. Never. Ever. I had to take control of the conversation and refuse to let go of it this time. Even if my return hadn't gone the way I had planned, I needed to make it so._

"_Whatever you're planning with Elena. Because she'll end up dead. And you'll leave. And I'll have to pick up the pieces." Caroline still hadn't moved. And now we were both furious with each other, though she still hadn't really managed to get under my skin._

"_Even if you don't get me Elena... Well, do you honestly believe I don't have a plan B. And, failing that... a plan C. And then a plan D. And... well, you know how the alphabet works, don't you?" The determination had been like a mask, that was now slowly sliding off her face. She'd lost. She would always lose a fight with me._

"_Katherine..." Her voice was pitying, as if she couldn't believe that I was still playing the same old games after centuries. _

"_Shut the fuck up, Caroline. If you won't let me in my own house... I'll just go see Damon. And don't forget to get Elena. Tick tock." She didn't move and so, with a sigh, I acted like I was surrendering. Obviously it wasn't much of a punishment to go see the Salvatore's, but if she wanted to pretend like she had control over me, it didn't harm anyone to let her be deluded for a little while longer._

_..._

"_Katherine, what are you doing here? I thought we agreed that we wouldn't meet at my house... what with the whole Stefan thing." Damon hadn't been expecting me, thank goodness. Because he was standing without a shirt. And that threw all my resolve out of the window. I wanted his blood, right this second._

"_Screw Stefan. You're my boyfriend, Damon. Let me treat you like it." I kissed him, but he was resistant. "Fine then. You don't want to do anything here..." And I used my vampire speed to dash off, knowing full well that Damon would still chase me._

_..._

"**Wait for me. I want to come with you." I don't know why I said that, but in that second I felt like Katherine was about to leave me forever. Who am I kidding, I always feel like that when I'm with her... like any second she'd realise that I'm no good for her, or that Stefan is better and she was wrong to break up with him. And in that second my heart will break.**

"**You're faster than I thought." Whether she didn't hear my words or she'd decided to ignore them, I didn't know. She was leaning against a tree giggling, having one of those rare moments where she's not the Katherine who is plotting something, or the Katherine who is stressing about Stefan... she was the Katherine that I got in those mornings we used to spend together.**

"**Why do you always run from me?" It's true. Every time we got close enough to be together, close enough that I could almost start planning our future together, something happened. The first time she left. The second time I left. Were we just doomed or something?**

"**Because I know that you'll always chase me. And I'm right, aren't I?" She smiled at me, that smug little smile when she knew that she had me. Forever. And not just my forever... her forever too.**

"**Then let me do it forever." I paused, knowing what I wanted to say but not sure how to say it. "Feed me your blood." There we go. It was out again. The reason I had almost lost her. I put both hands on the tree she was leaning on, although I was only pretending that I could box her in. If Katherine wanted to escape then she could just break my arms.**

"**I won't feed you, Damon." And she looked like she was about to continue; the smile wiped off her face.**

"**Katherine, I want you."**

**...**

_No no no no no. This wasn't happening. Not again._

"_Damon, I've changed people before. It's too much commitment, and you wouldn't feel the same about me." I lifted up a hand to stroke his cheek. "Besides, you're perfect just the way you are. Human."_

"_You changed someone else?" I could lie here, pretend that Caroline was the only one I had turned, but I'd been in this exact situation before._

"_I changed another guy. And he was in love with me. And then I couldn't stand to see him self destruct. He was out of control, and I had to-" my voice broke off without me wanting to. All I needed back then was company. Someone to run with me. And... ugh._

"_You killed him? I thought-"_

"_That vampires couldn't be killed. Well, they can. Stake is the usual method, but burning in the sun works just as well." Damon was just staring at me. "There's a hell of a lot that you don't know about this, and you need to understand that its dangerous. It's especially dangerous to be with me. I have a past..."_

"_So teach me it." This conversation wasn't going to go anywhere, so I just sighed, ducked under his arms and ran off, knowing that I was leaving him, still staring at the place where I had been._

_..._

**Maybe I should drop this conversation. I mean, Katherine was a vampire, its not like, if push came to shove, that I could even hope to take her on.**

**I just couldn't bear the thought of losing her. Not again. I had this stupid part time job, I had a stupid family who preferred my brother to me... the only thing keeping me going was ****_her. _****Her perfect smile, her perfect lips, her perfect hair that splayed out on the pillow when she was fast asleep, her perfect body – and believe me, all of it was perfect...**

"**I love you." The words came out of my mouth without me wanting them to. But she'd gone. And I wondered how long it would be until I traipsed after her.**

**5 minutes, I guess.**

**...**


	20. So Predictable

"_Caroline, I need Elena. Now." There was a pause on the other end. "Caroline, don't fuck with me, I know you have her. Bring her over to the Salvatore house in the next 15 minutes or I will kill you both. And you haven't lost enough of your humanity to allow me to do that to innocent, precious, Elena, have you?" I hung up before I could hear the answer, but knowing it already._

_Elena would be here, but not for long. She didn't have much use besides as a distraction._

"_Katerina?" God, I loved it when Stefan called me that. "I thought you were out with Damon-"_

"_Kiss me." If he didn't kiss me soon, rather than just stare at me like I was some freak, my plan was going to fall apart and I wouldn't get what I wanted... which was both the Salvatore brothers. I liked to think that I gave off the impression of spontaneity, but lets be honest, I had been planning this since Stefan was found out. It just so happened that right then was the correct time to do it._

_And there it was. Those lips on mine, kissing me like we had only five seconds left in the world. Which, judging on the sound of Damon's footsteps... was true. So I let myself get lost in Stefan. The way his mouth felt made for mine, the way his hair felt under my fingertips, the way that his body felt pressed against mine, the way he made me feel human again..._

"_What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Whether it was directed at his brother or at me, I didn't know. Either way, it was time to start acting._

"_Damon, I'm sorry. It just happened!" Immediately tears sprung to my eyes and I pushed Stefan's perfect body away from me._

"_So your lips just fell onto each other's?" The cynical side of Damon was appearing again, as expected. God, when would humans stop being so predictable?_

"_No, I-"_

"_I kissed her. It was my fault, Damon, but you and Katherine aren't meant to be together. You know that she's meant to be with me." Wait, what? Stefan was standing up to Damon?_

"_Stefan, don't."_

"_No, Katerina!" Shit. Damon was now looking extremely confused. "You like me, right?" I nodded, trying desperately to formulate a plan in my head. "And I like you. So stop being with Damon and just be with me!"_

_This is not how it was supposed to go. Stefan was supposed to just accept Damon's punches, supposed to watch me be dragged upstairs by Damon where I would then convince him that Stefan was vulnerable and I wasn't going to be responsible for him killing himself. Then I would return to Stefan and explain that I was to be with Damon as well, simply for fear that Damon would harm me._

"_Stefan, stop." I grabbed his face and forced those gorgeous eyes to look into mine. "You aren't going to say anymore. You're going to let me sort this out for myself." And I kept staring until the anger faded and Stefan relaxed under my touch._

"_Damon, lets talk." I took his hand- or at least tried to, before he snatched it away – and walked up the stairs, knowing that he would follow. At least I could control _one _of the Salvatore brothers..._

_..._

"**You've been seeing him behind my back, haven't you?" I didn't need to see her answer, I knew it already.**

"**Damon, your brother took it hard when I dumped him. Even though what he did was messed up, I couldn't bear it if anything happened to him because of me." Katherine's voice was muffled against her hand as she lay on my bed. Even when I should hate her, I couldn't help myself from admiring the curves of her body.**

**_I should just forget about this._**

**Where that thought came from I had no idea.**

"**Damon, all I'm suggesting is that until Stefan is okay again, I pretend to see him still. He won't know I'm pretending, but..." At that she flipped over, beckoning to me by crooking one finger, a smile on her lips. "... you know that my heart is yours."**

**Her wonderful smile sent all resolve out the window and I was moving closer to her, licking my lips, already desperate for her. As I kissed her I felt her teeth getting sharper, and instinctively I moved so that my neck was ready for her.**

"**Wait, Damon." My breath was coming out in gasps, even more so when instead of biting me she bit herself and held her wrist up for me. "Just do it." As if she could tell that I was struggling to hold in the million questions on my lips... "No questions. Questions come after."**

**She tasted amazing, like an explosion in my mouth. Even though it was still technically blood it tasted sweet, and strangely she felt like life. I moaned against her wrist, and her head fell back... It would seem that she was enjoying this just as much as I was.**

**...**

"_Oh my fuck..." He moaned for the millionth time that hour. Knowing that we were finished for the time being, I pushed him off me where he promptly fell asleep. Humans... no stamina. I wondered how long it would be before I regretted the beginning of the transformation. Because it was coming. Damon was wonderful and all, but if he begun to self destruct the way that little boy had all those years ago... well, I wouldn't watch it. He could self destruct by himself._

_With a quick push to check he was still asleep, I decided now was the time for part two of my plan. Although part one hadn't gone quite the way I wanted it to-_

_Oh shit._

_Elena._

_..._

_I charged downstairs, flung open the door to find her standing there. Looking dazed._

"_The blonde said to not move until you were finished with me..." her voice monotone, I knew that Caroline had finally perfected compulsion. If the circumstances were different I would feel proud, but I had a human on my hands with no clue what to do with it._

_You see, the plan was that Stefan and Damon would be fighting when she arrived. Well, I say fighting, but Damon would be beating the shit out of his younger brother. Therefore Elena would be a distraction, a way for me to get Stefan out of the way and also a way for me to convince Damon that I wasn't completely in the wrong._

_Unfortunately the timing was the fault, and Damon had come after me much faster than I had anticipated. Therefore Elena had been standing here for no reason. I blame Stefan for that, with his ability to force all thought out of my brain._

"_Elena, you're going to go back to the blonde now." Compulsion was easy when the human was weak. "You're going to tell her that you're a loose end. She'll know what to do."_

_The plain girl spun around and walked off into the night, and I smiled after her._

_NOW it was time for Part Two._

_..._


	21. The New Katerina

_I couldn't ignore that look that Caroline gave me as myself and Stefan walked down the halls. Her enrolling at school made it impossible to avoid her, although I didn't technically live at the house anymore. Even though I knew that, if needed, I could take her down, over the past few months I suppose we had regained our old connection and I didn't want to deal with the drama._

_Besides, having two boyfriends was tough work. Stefan was more difficult to manipulate, I must admit, but he knew that Damon was violent and therefore could technically beat me up. Huh. Stefan was still blissfully unaware of my supernatural tendencies and Damon wasn't going to tell him, that's for sure. I mean, Damon was still dealing with the fact that he was sharing his girlfriend. It was fun though, as both boys were satisfying in very different ways._

_But back to Caroline. After that night at which my plan had succeeded, the delightful blonde vampire had been almost forced to kill Elena. And, by the look in her eyes since, she had fed on the dull as dishwater brunette. Seeing as Caroline had practically begged me to change my plan so that it didn't involve any more humans than needed, I assumed that she blamed me for her first human kill._

"_Katerina?" Stefan had stopped walking, but me, still lost in my thoughts, had continued walking. Like I said, Stefan was satisfying in the human sense. It had been centuries since I had made as many mistakes as I made when I was with him… and strangely enough I enjoyed it. His brother was satisfying in the vampiric sense, as his blood still tasted just as good as the first time I had tried it, not speaking of the orgasmic pleasure of him feeding on me…_

"_I was away with the fairies." I smiled, still feeling Caroline's glare on my back._

"_Do you want to go?" Stefan was staring at the poster above our head. Unbeknown to me, I had been staring at it to. PROM, it screamed in garish pink lettering. Oh wow, it had been at least twenty years since I had been to prom…_

"_With you?" I obviously looked shocked, as Stefan seemed ashamed when he nodded. Did I want to go? Yes. Did I want to go with Stefan? Maybe. The Damon issue was still fresh in my mind, would he not want to go with me too?_

"_I'll think about it." I placed a smile on my face so it looked like I was just flirting, and Stefan smiled back. I think that I could possibly convince Stefan to jump off a cliff if I wanted to. I didn't of course, that would require the emotion side to me to be turned off because I like-_

_Wait, I liked Stefan? I mean, of course I liked his company. And I liked how he made me feel... but I liked him?_

_That was a shock to the system._

_..._

**My heart was pounding about twenty times too fast, as it always did between the hours of 9 am and 4 pm. Whenever Stefan had Katherine. Because, let's be honest, why would Katherine choose me when she had such fun with my little brother?**

**Plus there was the prom issue. My dumb brother had already bought tickets, I saw them when I was looking through his room to see if he had a journal where I could see how far he and Katherine had gone. But what if I wanted to go to prom with her? Otherwise there would be no doubt in my mind that Katherine and Stefan had fucked. I wonder if he's better than me... Shit. I fell back on my bed. I had definitely become that kind of boyfriend.**

**Anyone else would have made Katherine choose. But it was my brother, and he was crazily depressed whenever Katherine wasn't with him, and Mom and Dad would certainly blame me if he failed his exams or killed himself. And, although he was messed up with his infatuation for Katherine, he was still my brother. And I suppose I would miss him if he were not here.**

**Suddenly I heard the door open and my heart leapt. Stefan was home... which meant that Katherine was in our special place. I grabbed my jacket, charged down the stairs, ignoring the evil look that he gave me.**

"**Katherine!" I was out of breath – whether due to the running or due to the sight of my wonderful girlfriend, I don't know.**

"**Hi, Damon." She looked sad, even I could tell that. That beautiful smile of hers never reached her eyes.**

"**What's wrong?"**

"**Various things." She shrugged as I sat next to her. Instinctively my arm wrapped around her and she moved closer. "Caroline's still ignoring me." Though why Caroline was ignoring her, she wouldn't say. "I'm absolutely ravenous... Oh, and Stefan asked me to prom."**

**My heart skipped a beat then. "And why is that a bad thing?" But I moved so that Katherine was able to climb onto me and have easy access to my neck.**

"**Because I didn't know if you were planning on asking me..." Her voice trailed off as her eyes began to turn that deep red colour. Fuck, she really was hungry.**

"**I was. But if you want to go with-" All ability to think flew out of my mind as I felt her teeth sink into me. All I could do was let the strangled moans escape from my mouth. Fuck, she was so sexy and good and-**

**Her tongue was now flicking across the wound and expletives shot out of my mouth.**

"**Holy fucking shit..."**

**I saw her smile at that, but then she was holding out her now bleeding wrist for me to suck. And obviously I obliged. Then it was her time to let out the expletives...**

**...**

_I was breathing heavily, just like he was. Sharing blood was possibly the most enjoyable experience as a vampire. Doing it as a human was obviously quite enjoyable too, as Damon was still incredibly hard. Not that I knew what properly sharing blood was like, as the whole Rose experience went by extremely quickly. I do, however remember what my first taste of human blood was like..._

_..._

_Killing myself had been instinctive. I couldn't go back to Klaus. I just wouldn't. Although my life meant nothing anymore – my family had disowned me and even my friend Elijah had betrayed me. Trevor was surely to die for lying to save me... I had nothing._

_I had no idea that I would turn into a vampire. No idea whatsoever. I suppose it had all turned out for the best. And the fact that the old woman was there – well, it was like I had planned it. And, well, Rose had never shown me any compassion. In fact, she was only looking out for her precious Trevor and yet she knew that he had fallen for me. Hook, line and sinker._

"_Better you die than I." And it was the truth. My human life may not have meant anything, but this new life... this new blood coursing through my veins. It was the beginning of a new Katerina._

_Yet I couldn't stop myself from wanting to visit the old me. I suppose to fully say goodbye. Unfortunately I had to say goodbye to the dead bodies and the dried, crusty blood that surrounded them. If anything, that just made me even more determined to keep running. Because Klaus wasn't going to win this._

_..._

"_Katherine..." I was snapped out of my historical trance and I looked up at Damon, his cheeks flushed, eyes brighter than the stars. "Will you go to prom with me?"_

"_I shall have to let you know, darling."_

_And then I left him again._


	22. Something From A Story Book

_I was looking through my wardrobe back at the house (thank goodness Caroline wasn't there), surprised to find that all my clothes were still intact and as perfect as each other. I guess even in her anger Caroline appreciated vintage._

_Suddenly I realised that I wasn't sure what colour to wear... I got out my phone and dialled a number._

"_Hey, what colour's your suit? Black, right?" I listened to his answer and then decided that I would wear my silk red number. Black and red did complement each other so well, and especially with Stefan's beautiful tanned skin... black was a good choice._

"_Is your brother annoyed that I'm going with you?" I had been worried about that, and hadn't seen him since I'd told him. But I just woke up one morning and knew I wanted to go with the younger Salvatore brother. Besides, Damon didn't have to go._

"_No, Damon isn't annoyed." A voice that wasn't coming from the phone._

"_Stefan, I'll call you later." And I jumped up to face the blonde. "So, Caroline, how do you know what Damon's feeling?" But I already knew the answer. The blonde bitch was trying to swoop in and steal him. "Don't you remember what happened to the last boyfriend you had?" I walked closer to her, picking up the stake from my bag as I did so. "You know, when you cheated on him with me..." I was now so close I could quite easily remind her how my lips felt. "And then I killed him? Oh, and then I killed you." She had stopped breathing and I couldn't stop myself from smirking at that._

"_You wouldn't kill Damon. He means something to you." And that was all I needed. I shoved her against the wall, one hand already around her neck and the other holding the stake extremely close to her chest._

"_If it needed to be done, I would do it. Just like if I need to kill you, I will."_

"_You made me kill her."_

"_No, I made you get rid of her. You could have hired someone, or been in a car accident. You didn't have to taste her blood yourself." But something changed in Caroline's face at the mention of Elena's blood. Her eyes turned red, her fangs appeared... just for a moment. A moment too long._

_..._

"_You... look..." Stefan was staring at me as I walked down the stairs to meet him. I couldn't stop grinning, even though it was a very human attribute._

"_Beautiful? Perfect? Simply gorgeous you can't wait to ravish me?" Stefan chuckled and nodded with each word, before kissing me. I stopped breathing and, yet again, got lost in his lips. If I had a heart it would be beating too fast for me to handle. I would be seeing fireworks, feeling the heat burn through me._

"_All of those, Katherine. And as much as the last one is true..." He smiled. "...I bought these tickets and I want to show you off. To everyone." _Including my brother._ The words were unspoken but we both knew they were there._

"_Well, we should go then. The sooner we arrive, the sooner we can leave." I couldn't take my eyes off those lips of his, wanting them on me. Not just my lips, I wanted them everywhere..._

_..._

"_Hello little brother." The trance was broken. Myself and Stefan had been dancing since we had finished eating (or rather, he had finished eating. Not even the need to act could convince me to eat the rubbery chicken), and it had been truly perfect. Like we were in our dream world, a bubble where nobody could get in._

_Unfortunately that wasn't true, and we stopped moving, forced to talk to Damon. I must admit, Damon was looking quite handsome in his (also black) suit, his pale skin a perfect contrast. Although I couldn't say the same for his date, who was also in a black outfit (a dress that made her look more trashy than classy). Ugh, out of all the people he could have chosen, why her?_

"_Damon. Hello Caroline, you look lovely." I plastered a fake smile on my face as I nodded at her. And the smile became real when I noticed that Damon was staring at me._

"_Thank you, Stefan. You look delicious." My gaze snapped back to the bitch as I noticed the implications. That whore was going nowhere near Stefan. His first experience of feeding was going to be with me._

"_Stefan, sweetie. I'm terribly hot. Why don't the boys go get us some punch while myself and Caroline talk?" The second the "boys" were out of hearing distance I started to threaten Caroline. "If you go anywhere near Stefan's blood, I will kill you. And all your family. Don't kid yourself that you don't care anymore, because you do. In fact, I'll kill your family first, while you watch. Knowing that you caused it."_

_Caroline's eyes opened wide before becoming slits._

_Bitch._

_..._

"_It was nice that you and Caroline had sorted it out..." Stefan pondered as we walked back home. I smiled politely, not wanting to talk anymore about the blonde._

"_Actually, Stefan. I think I might stay at Caroline's tonight. I think she'll be out drinking or whatever so it should be fine." I didn't mention that myself and Damon had agreed to meet at our secret place._

"_I'll walk you that way then."_

"_No, sweetie. I can look after myself." I laughed. But then silence fell upon us both and I couldn't help but notice that Stefan seemed to be prepping himself for something._

"_I know that we haven't been together long, and I know that I'm in competition for you..." I was still smiling, though instinct was telling me to run, that I didn't really want to know what was coming next... "but I've never met a girl like you- I've never known anyone like you..." If only he knew, I wasn't at all like anyone in his life._

"_I look at you, and I see an angel." Oh, Stefan was so deluded. I'm more like a devil. "I touch your skin and I feel like I'm on fire." At that he placed a palm to my cheek. This was like something from a romance novel, and I was feeling more and more like those flouncy girls that were desperate for a man._

"_I kiss you, and I know that I'm falling in love." If I had a heartbeat it would be faltering right now. Stefan was falling in love with me? Gorgeous, perfect Stefan? And all I could take was a second of his kiss before I was doubting my self-control. "I am in love with you." Oh and now my heart would have stopped._

_I was in one of those novels. This was a dream. It had to be._

"_There's so much you don't know about me." My voice wasn't as steady as I wanted it to be. "I should go." I couldn't stop myself from feeling guilty about the look that crossed his face._

"_I've upset you, haven't I?"_

"_No!" I couldn't bear him to think that. "It was just a surprise. I'll see you tomorrow." And I smiled, picked up the parts of my dress that were trailing on the ground and walked away from him._

_..._


End file.
